Some Secrets Are Better Left Buried
by Crystal Manning
Summary: [Sequel to Filling In the Holes.] CGL is closed. After being reunited over the summer, the gang tackles school and the drama that comes with it: betrayl, decit, abuse, jail, shootings, pregnancies, and even death. SquidxOCxTwitch ZigzagxOC. Complete.
1. Back Home

**Chapter One-Back Home**

"Are you sure you want to go through with this?"

"I have to Zig. I don't have anywhere else to go."

"You could always stay with me."

"…I have to do this, Zigzag. I have to face…her again."

Squid brushed his brown hair out of his caramel eyes as he stared up at the beat up building. It was pretty out of shape, but it was the only place he could call home. He hated that his best friend had to see where he lived, but he knew that Zigzag wouldn't say anything about it to anyone they knew.

Camp Green Lake had been closed down a week ago, but Squid was too afraid to return home. He stayed with Zigzag and his parents and they made him feel at home. But he knew it was time to return to his own place, but he didn't want to leave the Kaschs' too soon.

Looking at the old house brought back bad memories for Squid, but he knew he had to face his past sooner or later. Taking a deep breath, he took a shaky step towards his home. One by one he slowly got closer. Everything was the same, the bushed, the porch, the peeling paint on the door. Everything, it brought everything back, but it mostly brought back the pain. He reached a shaky hand out towards the doorknob and slowly got closer and closer. Before his hand even rested on the knob, the door swung open and a girl stepped out.

Squid's eyes widened as he looked at the small girl. Her straight brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail and her dull eyes looked at him in wonder. Her shirt was ripped and tattered and there were holes in the knees of her jeans. She had some dirt smudged on her face and the making of a black eye.

"Ally," he whispered his voice so soft. He reached down and pulled the girl in a tight hug as tears fell down his face. The girl wrapped her small arms around his neck and allowed herself to be picked up off of the ground.

"Alan. I missed you so much," she whispered as he put her down. He placed his hands on her cheeks and inspected her eye.

"How've you been holding up, kid?" Squid asked her.

"Well enough to stay alive," she responded bitterly. "Where were you this whole time? You said you'd be back soon. And you never wrote and-" She stopped when she heard a voice float out of the house.

"Ally, you wench! I told you to get me some damn beer! What's taking you so long?"

A hard look crossed Squid's eye as a look of fear flashed behind Ally's. He pushed open the door and started into the house, despite Ally's calls. Zigzag walked up behind Ally and bent down until they were eye level. Ally trembled at the sight of him but he had a reassuring smile on his face.

"Everything will be fine, Ally. I promise," he said as he squeezed her shoulder gently. She retreated into the house and he followed her, closing the door behind him. He heard angry shouts coming from the kitchen and the sound of glass breaking.

"What the hell do you think you're doing back here?" Mrs. Smith, Alexis, yelled as she threw another empty beer bottle at Squid's head.

"I'm trying to stop you from hurting my sister!" He yelled back as he dodged the bottles that shattered against the wall. "I'm taking her with me!"

"You're not going anywhere!" Alexis snarled as she grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and slammed him up against the wall. "You two aren't going anywhere. You're going to stay here with me, and that's finale!"

"Ma'am." Zigzag said, signaling her of her presence. Alexis turned and saw him standing in the door way. She grabbed another beer bottle and hurtled it at him. He tilted his head to the left and the bottle went flying past his head.

"Who are you? Get out of here!" She screamed as she continued to throw bottles at him.

"Mom! STOP IT!" Squid yelled. "That's Zigzag, he's my best friend. Stop throwing things at him!" He grabbed the bottle out of her hands and held it above her head as Alexis glared up at him. "You have to stop this mom. You're only going to get yourself and Ally killed. You need help."

"Help?" Alexis repeated. "Help? The help I got before was from Duke. But all he wanted was my body along with my money. After he got that he ran away and never came back. Just like your bastard of a father – "

"Leave dad out of this!" Squid slammed the empty bottle down on the table and it shattered with the force of the blow. He winced slightly when the glass cut his hand but that was the only sense of pain he showed. "It's your fault he left us! All of this is _your fault!_ And now you're going to take it out on us when things don't go your way? That's bullshit mom, and you know it. You need help and I'm going to make sure you get it. The only way I can do that right now is by taking Ally with me."

The kitchen was silent as Zigzag looked back and forth between the look of fury on Alexis's face and the look of hatred on Squid's face. Sure, he's seen Squid mad before, but not this mad. Ally stood in a corner whimpering softly as she wiped tears from her eyes. Zigzag took her hand and led her out of the kitchen.

"Where'm I going to do?" Ally asked softly as she climbed the stairs, Zigzag by her side.

"You and Squ—I mean Alan will stay with me. You'll like my family," he responded as he gently ruffled her hair.

"But what will happen to my momma?" She questioned as she pushed open the door to her bedroom. She walked over to her closet, pulled out a suitcase, and opened it before moving around the room to put clothes into it.

"Well…she'll be getting help," he responded as he leaned against the doorway. "And she needs it badly."

"But what about my edumacation?"

"'Edumacation'?" Zigzag repeated as a confused look crossed his face. "Oh, you mean education."

"That's what I said."

"Who's been teaching you?"

"Duke."

"You mean, you've never been to a school with other kids?"

"No, I've been home schooled this whole time."

"Well, when you and Alan come and live with me, you'll be sent to a real school where you will get an education that you deserve."

Ally smiled softly up at him as she continued to fill the suitcase with clothes. Squid came in through the door and Ally rushed over to his side. Squid picked her up and held her against his hip as he hugged her tight. The nine-year-old girl had a smile on her face as he carried her out of the house.

"Are you sure it's ok for us to stay with you?" Squid asked Zigzag as he placed Ally in the back of Zigzag's car.

"Of course it's ok," Zigzag said with a reassuring slap to Squid's back. "Don't forget that I'm always here for you, dude."

"Thanks," Squid said with a smile. He pasued and said, "Y'know, you're not as crazy now as you were back in Camp Green Lake."

"Never speak of that name here." Zigzag hissed as he slapped his palm over Squid's mouth.

"Why not?" Squid's muffled voice came out from behind his palm.

"You don't know who might be listening." Squid just shook his head as he got into the passenger seat of the car as Zigzag got into the driver's seat. He looked back at the house and saw his mom standing on the porch with a sad look on her face. He turned his attention back to the road as Zigzag drove away. "Now, I have to warn you, my place is…hectic."

"How hectic is hectic?" Squid questioned suspiciously.

"You'll see," was all Zigzag responded. About an hour later they pulled up in front of a nice house. Squid felt a pang of jealousy as he lifted his sister out of the car and held her against him with one hand as he held onto her suitcase with the other. Zigzag locked the car and led them up to the house. He unlocked it and pushed the door, letting them in. Once the door closed Zigzag yelled, "I'm home!" Squid heard pounding footsteps before kids rushed over to greet him.

"Ricky, we're glad you're back," a woman about the age of fourty and a man walked in.

"Mom, you said it was ok if Alan and his sister Ally stayed here, they can't go back home," Zigzag said as he hugged his mother.

"It's perfectly fine. You two are welcome here," she said as she smiled at Alan as he put the suitcase on the floor. "I'm Lena, this is my husband Leon. And these are our kids." She turned and saw them standing in line from tallest to shortest. "You all ready know Ricky. He's sixteen turning seventeen. Then there's Eric. He's fifteen. And next is Liam. He's fourteen. Sandy is thirteen. Samantha is twelve. Riley and Rachel are eleven, twins as you can see. Then there is Jake at ten. And last is Maggie at nine. Kids, this is Ricky's friend Alan Smith and his little sister Ally. They will be staying with us for a while."

Alan looked the kids over. They all had wild blond hair and matching wild blue eyes. The twins, he noticed, were smiling at him brightly. Besides them, the only other ones who smiled were the girls. The boys had hostile looks on their faces.

"You can go back to what you were doing now," Leon told them. The boys ran off, towards the basement, as the girls giggled and walked off. Maggie waited as Squid put Ally on the ground.

"I'm Maggie," she said as they started to walk off.

"I'm Ally. Do you like video games?"

"Yeah!"

"Squid, I think my sisters like you," Zigzag said as he motioned for him to follow him up the stairs. "You'll be staying with me in my room. Sorry if the mess bothers you, I'm not known to clean."

"It's fine," Squid said as he walked into the room. He twisted the toothpick that was in his mouth before he turned back to Zigzag and said, "Thanks man. I really appreciate this."

"It's no problem dude, really," Zigzag responded with a shrug. "Don't forget, I'm always here for you."


	2. Reunion Part One

**Chapter Two-Reunion Part One**

"Alan, what're you doing?" Ally asked as she stepped out of the Kasch home.

"Mowing the lawn," he responded as he wiped sweat off of his forehead with his arm. He thought he had escaped the heat when he left Camp Green Lake, but the heat decided to follow him wherever he went. His shirt was tucked into the back of his jeans as he pushed the lawn mower ahead of him. He had his doo rag on to protect his hair from turning blond and he wore his cap on to protect his face from the sun. He wasn't used to wearing normal clothes and he wished he hadn't decided on wearing jeans to mow the lawn. He could feel sweat slide down his leg.

"Do you want me to bring you some lemonade?" She questioned as she watched him.

"That'll be great. Thanks Al."

"No problem."

Ally smiled before walking back into the house as Squid pushed the lawn mower ahead of him again. Ally came back out when he was finished with half of the lawn and he decided to take a break. He joined her on the porch and took a sip of the lemonade as he looked at the neighborhood around them.

"Do you like it here, Alan?" Ally asked him as she reached for a cookie.

"It's ok," he responded with a shrug. "I mean, it's our home now, at least until I turn eighteen."

"Oh." Ally stayed silent until she looked over at him and noticed something was missing. "Hey, where are your dog tags?"

"Where're my–" Squid started as he reached up to his neck. He was confused for a couple of seconds when he felt his are skin against his fingers but remembered where it was. "Oh, I gave it away."

"Why? Who'd you give it to?"

"My girlfriend. At least, I _think_ she was my girlfriend."

"You mean Heather?" Ally guessed. "No, you broke up with her a while ago. How about Melanie? No, broke up with her too. How about Lucy? Olivia? Lauren? Sophie? Jas–"

"It's not one of them," Squid interrupted her as he reached for a cookie.

'Then what other girl could there be?" Ally asked in confusion.

"One I met at CGL, you know, that place I was held," he responded slowly as he watched her face.

"Ohhhhh. So, what's her name?"

"Her real name or her nickname?"

"You have nicknames there?" Ally asked as she wrinkled her nose. "Why? What's the point?"

"It's like a form of respect," Squid explained. "And it also describes why we got sent there."

"Oh. What's your nickname?"

"It's Squid."

"Squid?" Ally asked while laughing as Squid grinned at her. "How'd you get that?"

"I think it's because of how I was sent there. Stealing, y'know? I think it was because I could grab so much stuff it was like I had more than one arm." He responded as he leaned back and rested on his elbows.

"Explain to me the whole Camp Green Lake thing _before_ you tell me who the girl is," Ally said as she also leaned back so she was resting on her elbows. Her caramel eyes looked over at him as she brushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Ok, basically Camp Green Lake is a place to hold juvenile delinquents so they don't have to go to jail, but it is like jail in it's own way. Anyway, there are six tents, A-F. F-tent is for the councerls and A-E are for the campers. Us campers had to dig holes to build character. Anyway, the boys in my tent was X-Ray, the leader, Zigzag, Armpit, Magnet, Caveman, Zero, Icy, Glare, Shorty, Twitch, and me. Our real names are Rex, Ricky, Theodore, José, Stanley, Hector, Mackenzie, Matthew, Maxine, Brian, and obviously me, Alan.

"X-Ray got his name because it's Rex in pig-latin and he has huge glasses. Zigzag got Zigzag because he suffers from acute paranoia and he's kinda crazy. Armpit, well, I think you can guess by the name. Magnet because he can steal anything, Caveman because he's a Neanderthal, Zero because, well, we didn't think he was smart. Icy because she was cold towards us at first. Glare because he has a wicked glare that can really scare you, it even scared me. Shorty because, well, she's short, and Twitch because he doesn't stop Twitching."

"Now, was Shorty your girlfriend?" Ally asked.

"No way!" Squid said with a laugh. "She's Icy's little sister, about your age. No, Icy is…was…is my girlfriend. She hated me at first but then I got to her I guess. I guess the only reason she fell for me was because I knew about the pain she was going through and I trusted her and loved her. No one, besides her siblings, had loved her before and that's all she wanted. To be loved."

"You really loved her that much?" Ally asked in awe. "But you went through those other girls like…a book. They're each like a page in a book that you turn and forget about."

"Well, that's true, but I never really loved any of them."

"What about me? Do you love me?"

"If I didn't, I would've left you with mom," he responded as he kissed the top of her head.

"How much did you love her?"

"As much as I possibly could."

"Even enough to…" her voice trailed off as she rose her eyebrows and looked over at him. He nodded slowly as her eyes widened in one part shock and one part amazement.

"But I don't think I'll ever see Icy again. It'll be a miracle if I do," he added as he got off the steps and walked over to the lawn mower. He started it up once more as Ally to the empty cups and the plate back into the house. She accidentally ran into Eric who smiled at her and moved out of her way as she quickly passed him.

Zigzag sat on the couch in the living room watching cartoons with all of his sister. Maggie was sitting on his lap, Rachel and Riley were on either side of him, and Sandy and Samantha were sitting on the floor, resting their backs on his legs.

"Don't go in that closet, don't go in that closet!" Zigzag warned. The character on the screen opened the closet door and a ghost popped out. "Told ya," he said with a sigh.

"Stop it, Ricky! You're ruining the show!" Maggie said as she smacked Zigzag's arm playfully.

"Kids, breakfast is ready," Lena said as she entered the living room, drying her hands on a towel.

"Isn't it kinda late? It's 11:00," Samantha pointed out as she stood and stretched.

"I'm trying to make the breakfast special since it's Alan's and Ally's first day with us, I needed more time. Now wash your fingers," she said as she lightly slapped Maggie on the butt to get her moving. The girls ran up the stairs, screaming about who gets to sit next to Alan. "It'll be hard watching them start dating," she sighed as she shook her head.

"You'll get through it mom," Zigzag said as he kissed her cheek. "You had to deal with Eric, Liam and I."

"Yeah, but boys don't have to deal with getting their hearts broken."

"Fair point."

Zigzag opened the front door and called out, "Yo Squid! Breakfast is ready, man!"" Squid shut off the lawn mower and walked inside as he wiped sweat off of his forehead once more. They turned their attention to the Kasch sisters who had just ran down the staris but stopped and gawked at Squid when they noticed he wasn't wearing a shirt. "I'm never going to get tired of that. This is the first time they're ever quiet," Zigzag said while laughing. He turned to his sister and said, "Help mom set the table!"

"Do we have to?" Sandy whined.

"Do you want the mutant forks to come and attack you?"

"I read about those in a book! People switch normal forks with mutant forks to get rid of their enemies!" Samantha gasped.

"It's bad enough that Ricky is paranoid, why do you have to be paranoid too?" Rachel groaned as she shoved her sisters into the kitchen.

"I thought you were the only one in your family that was paranoid," Squid said in confusion as he climbed the stairs to the bathroom.

"I'm just the only one who chooses to show it. I mean, I can't help it. These showers could be bugged to the jail cell to where the Warden is. She could be waiting for some useful information to use against us and – "

"I get it!" Squid interrupted as he laughed a little. "I'll be down in…three minutes."

"All right. I'll save you a plate of food. If I don't, it'll be gone before you can say Yellow Spotted Lizard."

Squid took a quick shower and changed into clean jeans and wore his favorite yellow t-shirt with the number 34 in the middle. He retied his doo rag on his head before bounding down the stairs and strutting into the kitchen where the Kasch family was sitting down. Ally pointed to the empty seat across from her and he sat down with a sigh.

"Are you all right, Alan?" Leon asked him as he spoon hash browns onto his plate.

"Yeah, I just didn't think mowing a lawn could take a lot out of you."

"You didn't have to do that," Lena told him.

"But we're glad he did," Samantha blurted out as her face turned red. Liam eyed her as a smirk crossed his face. Ally snorted as a faint blush came to Squid's cheeks. Breakfast went by quickly because they didn't say much. Zigzag and Squid offered to do the dishes while everyone else went back to what they were doing.

"No offense to your sisters, man, but they are starting to scare me," Squid said as he rubbed a sponge across a plate.

"I'm afraid of them too, but you get used to it," Zigzag said with a shrug ashe pulled his wet rag out of the water. It smacked Squid in the face and he spluttered as soapy water hit him. He flicked soap bubbles at Zigzag in retaliation as an evil grin crossed Zigzag's face. Soon they got into a soap fight as they started laughing. A ringing telephone interrupted their laughter.

"Hello?" Zigzag asked once he picked it up.

"_Is this the Kasch residence?"_

"It is."

"_Is Ricky there?"_

"Speaking."

"_Hey Zig, it's Caveman."_

"Caveman," Zigzag repeated, capturing Squid's attention.

"_Yeah. Listen, I'm having this party thing at my place. Kind of like a D-Tent reunion party before school starts. I was wondering if you could come."_

"Of course I'll come!"

"_Thanks. Um, can you tell me what Squid's number is or if it changed? Every time I call there's a noise signaling that it's not connected."_

"He's here with me. He's going to come too. Bye Caveman."

"_All right, see you soon Oh, and bring your bathing suits too.."_

Zigzag hung up and grinned at a confused Squid.

"What's going on?" Squid asked as he dried his hands.

"We're going to Caveman's place. He's having a D-Tent reunion party." Squid's mouth fell open in surprise. "Yes, I'm being serious. C'mon, I need to ask my mom for the car."

Still dumbfounded, Squid followed Zigzag up to his parents room where he asked if he could borrow the car and he told them that they'd be back around 6:30 on the dot. If anything went wrong he would call them immediately and he allowed them to call to check on him from time to time.

"Where're you going?" Ally asked as he followed Squid and Zigzag to their room where Zigzag tossed a pair of swim trunks at Squid's head.

"We're going to a friend's house for a D-Tent reunion party thing," Squid responded as he stuff a knapsack with the trunks, a towel, and flip flops.

"Can I come?"

"Sorry Al, you have to stay here."

"Aww, just let her come, man," Zigzag said as he left the room. He came back and held out a blue bathing suit to Ally. "You can borrow this. I'm sure Maggie won't mind. Now, all I need to do is print out directions."

Once they were printed out they all got into the car and drove off. Ally bobbed her head to the Eminem song that they were listening to and sang along with the rapper as Zigzag and Squid just bobbed their heads. They pulled up in front of a large house and Ally looked up at it in awe.

"Who knew that he would end up living here," Zigzag muttered as they walked up to the front door. Squid pushed the door bell and they waited until a woman came to the door. "Hello. I'm Ricky, and this is Alan and his sister Ally."

"Oh yes, some more of Stanley's friends. Everyone else is in the back yard. Just hang a right and go through the double doors in the kitchen," she said as she stepped out of the way. They followed her directions and walked out onto the back patio.

"Hey guys!" Magent called from the pool.

"Mag! It's great to see you again!" Zigzag said as he walked over to the edge. Squid and Ally stood by as they pulled their t-shirts off over their heads and took off their shorts, revealing Squid wearing red swim trunks while Ally wore a blue one-piece bathing suit.

"Squid?" A soft voice asked. He turned around as his mouth fell open.

"Icy?"


	3. Reunion Part Two

**Chapter Three-Reunion Part Two**

"Wh-what're you doing here?" Squid asked as she walked over to him.

"I could ask you the same thing," she responded sarcastically, although she grinned. He just smiled as he stepped forward and gave her a tight hug and a peck on the cheek.

"Is that her?" Ally asked as he tugged on his waistband.

"Yeah," he responded. "Um, Icy, this is my little sister Ally. Ally, this is, I hope, my girlfriend Icy."

"How old are ya, kid?" Icy asked as she peered down at the little girl.

"Nine," Ally responded as she looked up at Icy. Icy whistled and called over to a girl who was floating on an inner tube. She got over to the edge and pulled herself out and joined the group at Icy's side.

"Shorty, this is Ally, Squid's sister. Ally, this is my little sis Shorty. She just turned nine."

"Hi," Shorty said brightly as her blue and green eyes sparkled.

"Hey," Ally replied in the same voice.

"I'm hungry, do you want something to eat?"

"Yeah. Let's go."

Icy smiled slightly as Ally ran off with Shorty towards the grill. It faded as she glared at Squid.

"What?" He asked in confusion. Sighing heavily, she grabbed his wrist and dragged him behind the house. "Didn't thin you missed me _this_ much," he said with a smile as his eyebrows rose. Rolling her eyes, icy quickly slapped him across the face. "What the hell was that for?" He demanded as he slapped her back.

"You're a fucking idiot, that's why!" She hissed as her eyes hardened.

"What're you talking about? I didn't do anything!"

"Didn't you? You mean you don't remember?"

"Remember what?"

"Not to interrupt your married-couple argument," Glare said as he walked up, "But some of the guys are looking for you Icy. They want to go against you in water basketball."

"Fine," was all Icy said as she brushed past Squid, making sure to hit him with her shoulder as she followed her twin back towards the pool. Squid shook his head as he untied his do rag and took a striding jump into the pool. He water wrestled against X-Ray, Magnet, and Twitch, played water basketball, and had a trick contest with Ally, Zigzag, and Shorty. He could feel Icy glaring holes into the back of his head the whole time, but he ignored it as he tried to enjoy the day as best as he could.

"So, where are you guys staying?" Twitch asked Glare at dinner that night. Zigzag convinced his mother to let them stay for the night, as long as they didn't make too much noise when they came home. Glare and Icy exchanged glances but Shorty answered for them.

"We're staying with a cousin," she responded as she took a sip of lemonade.

"Where?" Caveman questioned as he put a plate of hamburgers on the table and sat down.

"Somewhere close enough to our new school. I go to Greenlake Lower School and they go to Greenlake High School."

"That's where I'm going!" Caveman said in a shocked voice.

"Me too," Armpit agreed.

"Same here," Magnet said with a nod.

"Well, I think it's safe to say that we're all going to the same school. That can't be by coincidence," Glare said as he looked at them all. "What grade will you be in? Icy and I are going to 10th grade. We should actually be going into 11th but we weren't educated enough."

"I'm going to 10th too," Caveman said.

"Same here," Twitch agreed,

"11th," Zigzag said as Magnet, Squid, and Armpit nodded.

"12th," X-Ray said proudly. "Don't worry, I won't forget you guys, although I'm going to be a senior."

"I'm going to be a freshman," Zero said quietly.

"At least you aren't young like the rest of us." Ally grumbled before taking a bite out of her hamburger.

"Although some people act like it," Squid said as he glared across the table at Icy who glared back.

"If you're referring to yourself, you got that right, then," she said in a calm voice as she lifted her cup up to her lips. Squid rolled the toothpick that was in his mouth before he rested the bottom of his foot on Icy's chair. He gave it a swift kick, causing the contents in the cup to spill over her shirt. "What the hell?" She screamed before tossing what was left in the cup in his face. He spat it out and grabbed a handful of the salsa that was sitting on the table next to the bowl of chips.

"Alan!" Ally screamed as she grabbed his free arm, jerking him sideways as he let go of the handful. It smacked Magnet right below the neck.

"_Dios!_" He cried out before grabbing a handful of chip dip and throwing it. Squid quickly grabbed Zigzag and pulled him over so he got the dip to his face.

"Are you insane!?" Zigzag suddenly yelled as he quickly wiped the dip off his face. They stared at him, expecting him to say something about him being allergic to the dip. "There could be alien spores in there!" Everyone laughed before he started to throw salsa and dip back. Ally and Shorty ducked under the table, ignored by the teens as they threw food back to start a food fight.

"Hey! Stop it!" Caveman called as he was pelted by food.

"Icy, stop!" Glare said as he jumped in between Icy and Squid. Icy was trying to claw at Squid's face but he held a pan in the way and swatted at her hands. "Stop it! You'll hurt it!"

"Who're you calling an 'it'?" Squid demanded.

"I'm not talking to you!!" Glare responded as he still restrained his sister.

"I won't hurt anything but that _bastard_!" She screamed, ignoring Squid's statement, as she continued to struggle.

"Icy, stop!" Shorty cried as she came out from under the table and ran to her sister's side. "You're going to hurt it."

"Stop calling me an 'it'!" Squid growled.

"I'm not talking about you!" Shorty screamed at him as she pushed her sister towards the bathroom after Glare had calmed her down a little bit.

"Well, that was fun," Magnet commented as he wiped dip off of his face.

"Man, shut up!" The all muttered in unison as they slapped him on the back of the head. Ally giggled softly as she looked up and saw some substance dripping from the celing.

Meanwhile in the bathroom Icy hung her head under the rushing water from the shower head as she washed the food out of her hair, cursing every now and then. Shorty sat on the toilet lid and kicked her feet back and forth as she watched her older sister.

"He doesn't know, you don't have to be so mean," Shorty pointed out after a few minutes of silence.

"I think I have every right to be mean! He's the one who did this to me!" Icy shot back as she squeezed out her hair.

"I think your hormones are talking for you. Just go out there and apologize then tell him–"

"No! I can't tell him. Not yet."

"But you will?"

Icy sighed and ran a hand through her wet hair before she turned to look at her little sister. "Look, you're eight, and I know you're smart for an eight year old, but this is what I have to deal with on my own. Maybe Glare can help me, but I don't want you to get involved. You might tell someone. And…you don't understand why I can't tell yet."

"Well, when you need my help, you'll admit it and ask me, right?" Shorty asked slowly.

"Of course."

Smiling, Shorty took her hand and led her out of the bathroom and back into the kitchen where the boys were cleaning up.

"Aren't you going to help?" Armpit asked as he looked over at them from where he was sweeping.

"No," the girls responded in unison.

"I need to talk to you," Zigzag said as he grabbed Icy by her upper arm. As he passed Short, he thrusted the mop into her hands and continued to push Icy out into the hallway. "What's going on with you?"

"Nothing Ziggy…it's nothing," Icy responded as she shook her head.

"Look, I may be paranoid and _a little bit_ crazy, but I think I'd be able to tell by now if something is bothering you," he said gently as he looked down at her in concern.

"It's hard to explain…" was all she replied.

"You're having mood swings. There's only three possible reasons for that. You have your period—"

"Please," Icy scoffed as she shook her head.

"—You're bipolar. Or…you're pregnant." Icy stared at him blankly as he stared back. "I know for a fact that you're not bipolar, although you _do_ have wicked moods sometimes, so that must mean you're pregnant." He concluded.

"I'm not!" Icy said as she shook her head.

"Are you sure? I know all of the signs since I'm the oldest and I have a lot of siblings. You look tired," Zigzag said as he slowly walked around her, inspecting her and intimidating her at the same time. "You look nauseous, you said you couldn't swim because you had a headache _and_ a backache, and you have to keep going to the bathroom. You left the dinner table about five times. I'm not stupid, you _are_ pregnant. Who's the father?"

Icy bit her lip as she lowered her head, refusing to say anything as her shoulders shook slightly. Zigzag stepped forward and pulled her into a hug as he gently rocked her and stroked her hair as she cried into his chest. Her muffled voice came out as she said, "I don't know what to do. I can't keep it, but I can't kill it either."

"Right now, what you have to do, is tell Squid that you are pregnant."

"How'd you know it was him?"

"Who else could it be? You don't see me chasing after you like he did, do you?" Icy laughed as she wiped her eyes and Zigzag smiled. "Don't forget, I'm always here for you. And if you do keep it, I can be it's uncle! I've always wanted to be an uncle. Now, go talk to him." When Icy didn't budge he went back into the kitchen and dragged Squid to where Icy was standing.

"Are you going to finally explain to me why you've been acting like a bitch lately?" Squid asked as he crossed his arms over his chest and looked at her, chewing on the toothpick that was in the corner of his mouth.

"I can't do this," Icy said as she shook her head and started to pass him.

"Yes you can!" Zigzag said as he held her back with an arm. "Squid, shut up and listen to what she has to say!"

Squid tilted his head slightly as he looked at Icy in confusion, as she fidgeted. She sighed and started, "Well, you remember my last night at camp? When we left the party early?"

"Yes," he responded as a faint smile came across his face. "Of course I remember."

"Well…there's been an accident."

"What kind? Are you ok? Is it Shorty? Is something wrong with her?" He asked in alarm as his smile faded.

"She's ok…I'm the one with the problem."

"Well…what is it? It's not like you're pregnant, right?" Icy looked him in the eye and nodded slowly. Squid's mouth slowly dropped open as the toothpick fell onto the floor. "Y-you're really p-pregnant? How did this happen? Well, I mean I _know_ how it happened, but-"

"We didn't use protection," Icy reminded him.

"How're we supposed to get it in the middle of a desert?" Squid asked exasperatedly.

"Are you mad at me?" Icy asked timidly, which was unlike her.

"No…I'm happy for you," he responded as he smiled and hugged her. "We're going to be starting a family together," he added as he kissed her forehead. "Wait, you _are_ going to keep it, right?"

* * *

**A/N: Suggestions and Constructive Criticism are also welcome in the reviews. I want to know what you guys think I should do and how you thin I should change some parts. Don't forget to review!**


	4. School Part One

**A/N: Sorry this chapter is not that long. I had a lot of stuff to do.**

**Chapter Four-School Part One**

"Dude, wake up all ready. We can't be late for school." Zigzag said in a tired voice as he repeatedly hit Squid with a pillow. He just groaned and rolled over, avoiding being hit once more.

"I just had the scariest dream ever," Squid muttered. "Icy told me she was pregnant."

"She is and we're going to be late if you don't get your ass up!"

Squid shot up in bed as his eyes widened and his mouth fell open. "You mean it wasn't a dream? What if the others find out? Worse, what if your parents find out?"

"I don't know what they'd do, I never got a girl pregnant so, they can try a lecture on you," Zigzag responded as he pulled a light blue t-shirt on over his head. "If anything, they'll ground you for some unknown reason."

"Do you know if she's going to keep it?" Squid questioned as he pulled on a pair of baggy jeans.

"She never told me. You should be the first one to know, anyway. You're the father, after all."

Squid just nodded as he pulled a black baggy shirt on over his head. He tied his doo rag on over his hair and bent over to lace up his shoes. Sighing, he grabbed his backpack, the one that the Kasch's bought for him, and lifted it up to his shoulder.

"You all right, man?" Zigzag asked as he placed a hand on Squid's shoulder.

"Mhm. Just thinking about some stuff. Let's go."

Across town Icy held her head over the toilet bowl as she threw up again. Glare leaned against the bathroom wall while Shorty wrote something down on a notepad. Icy soon came out, wiping her mouth with a towel, and a grossed out look was on her face.

"How're you feeling?" Glare asked her.

"Sick," Icy responded as she looked over at him. "But other than that I'm just fine."

"Ok…so, I've been thinking and…I don't think you should go through with having the baby," Glare said quietly as he held her gaze. Icy didn't glare, didn't shout, she just looked at him, as if studying his intentions.

"Why?" She finally asked after a while.

"Well, you're only fifteen," Shorty interrupted in a gentle voice, so she wouldn't test Icy's nerves. "That's too young to be having a kid. I wished you would've talked to me before you and Squid…did it. I don't want you to go through all of this stressful mother stuff yet. You have your whole life to do that and you're throwing it away. Soon, you'll have to drop out of school. You won't be able to get a job that easily because you got into trouble with the law and you would be a teen mother."

"She is right," Glare said softly.

"So you want to kill it too?" Icy questioned him calmly.

"Well…no, but I don't want to see you go through rejection all of your life. If you give up the baby, Squid will understand. If you keep it…then you'll have to work hard to get your life going the way you want it to."

"The real question is…do _you_ want to keep the baby?" Shorty reminded her. Icy ignored the question as she stuffed her backpack with books and moved towards the front door. "What do you think she's going to do?" Shorty asked Glare as he helped her put on her backpack and led her towards the front door.

"Hard to say, knowing Icy," he responded as he closed and locked the door behind himself. "I just hope she makes the right choice.

"Yeah. Me too."

---

"Mom, I'll be fine. It's just school. I've been there before," Caveman said as he stood with her on the sidewalk in front of Greenlake High.

"All right. If you need anything, I'm just a call away." She said before kissing his cheek. She gave a wave, got into her car and drove off. Caveman waved until she was a speck and turned around to see Zero grinning up at him. "What?"

"Nothing. I'm just excited. I've never been to a school before," Zero responded as they started to walk into the school. "I've never been around this many people."

"You get used to it. Just try and stay away from the older kids, they have a tendency to pick on freshmen. As long as you're with one of us from D-Tent, you'll be fine."

"If you say so."

The two walked into the school and headed straight for the offices. In there they saw Squid and Zigzag sitting in chairs. Squid was listening to music and bobbing his head while Zigzag drew in a sketchpad.

"Hey guys," Caveman greeted them in a loud voice so Squid could hear him over the music.

"Hey dude," Zigzag said as Squid pulled his cell phones off of his ears.

"Sup man?" Squid asked as he slapped palms with Caveman.

"Nothing much. Have you seen anyone else yet?"

"Nah, man, we got here first I think."

"We would've been late if Squiddy didn't get his ass outta bed," Zigzag explained. "He was tired from the party."

"About that, how're things between you and Icy? I heard you guys talking and–"

"And what?" Squid demanded as he stood and glared down at Caveman.

"Calm down," Zigzag said as he placed a hand on Squid's shoulder. "He doesn't mean anything by it. He doesn't like people talking about his girlfriend like that," he told Caveman.

"Ohhhhhkaaaaaay."

"C'mon Caveman, let's get our schedules," Zero said as he pushed Caveman past Squid and Zigzag.

"You have _got_ to relax or else someone will find out," Zigzag scolded him.

"Thank you, mommy!" Squid snapped as he rolled his eyes and placed his headphones over his head again. They were soon yanked off his head and he turned to see Glare and Icy looking at them; Glare was spinning the headphones around his finger. "H-hey."

"Hey," they responded in unison.

"How're you feeling?" Squid asked as he locked eyes with Icy.

"A little sick, somewhat irritated, but other than that I'm fine," she responded with a shrug.

"So…have you decided…about the _thing?_"

"Yeah," she responded with a sigh. "And…I don't want to keep the baby."

"What?" Squid asked quietly.

"Can I ask you why you made that decision?" Zigzag questioned.

"I'm not ready to have a kid yet. I'm only fifteen. I can't be a teen mom. I still have to take care of Shorty, get a job, get my schoolwork done, play sports…I just don't have enough time."

"But…you'll be killing it," Squid reminded her as he took a step towards her. "You'll be killing a live person."

"Squid, it's her decision," Glare reminded him as he took a step closer to his sister, incase he had to defend her.

"She can't do that!"

"You can't tell me what I can and can't do!" Icy snapped.

"But…I wanted to – "

"Start a family, I know! But I can't do that! I don't have time and it will be a lot of stress on my part. And, frankly, this whole baby thing is starting to bother me."

Zigzag's eyebrows raised at her straightforwardness. He knew that she always spoke her mind, but was there ever a time when she kept quiet? He knew that this was angering Squid a lot but he didn't want to intrude on their conversation. It was basically about their own lives and he thought that they should deal with it on their own.

"And since you're being so bothered you just want to _crush_ my happiness?" Squid hissed as he glared.

"I'd rather crush your happiness and be happy myself then being miserable with a kid!" Icy snapped back.

"Icy…" Glare started.

"Shut up!" Squid and Icy yelled at him in unison.

"You're being selfish, y'know that?" Squid demanded.

"_Excuse me_ for wanting to start my life over again." Icy took a deep breath and continued. "And I think the only way I can do _that_ is if you stay away from me!"

"Are you breaking up with me?"

"I'm surprised you got that through you thick skull!"

"Fine! Do whatever you want! Date whoever you want! Just don't come crying to me when the guys dump you after you won't put out!"

"Dn't come crying to _me_ when you get sent to jail for being a sex predator!"

They glared at each other before Icy shoved him and left the office.

"Icy, wait!" Glare called after her. "Zig, can you get our schedules please?"

"Of course," he responded. He waited for Glare to leave before saying to Squid, "You made a big mistake."


	5. School Part Two

**Chapter Five-School Part Two**

"Icy," Glare said as he finally caught up with her and grabbed her by the arm.

"I don't want to talk!" Icy snapped without looking at him.

"Icy, I think you're making a huge mistake," he blurted out as he turned her to face him. He ignored the students that brushed past them: some girls looking him up and down, some guys doing the same to his twin.

"About the baby? You're the one who thought I shouldn't have it in the first place!"

"No, not about that. Believe it or not, I'm talking about breaking up with Squid." Glare sighed before continuing. "He was perfect for you, why did you let him go? Sure, you two made a bad decision once, but that doesn't mean that you could–"

"I was scared, ok?" Icy wailed as she shook her head.

"Scared of what?"

"That some girl who's prettier than me, smarter than me…someone who's blond will take him away from me! He is a guy, Glare."

"Newsflash, Icy, that was your hormones talking. You didn't really want to break up with him, you experienced a mood swing. Now, I want you to go back there, apologize, and make up!"

Icy shifted her gaze past her brother's face. He sensed this and turned around. He felt his own heart drop when he saw Squid talking to a beautiful blond haired girl who was smiling brightly as she twisted her hair around her finger. She touched his arm as he smiled and she giggled.

"Too late," Icy muttered before pulling out of his grasp and making her way down the hall.

--------------------

Twitch sat quietly in his first period History classroom drumming his fingers on his desk as he looked around at the other students in the room. A lot of them gave him funny looks before returning to talk to each other once again. He looked around and saw a kid who reminded him of Zigzag. He sat down two seats ahead of him and started to talk to another boy. Sighing, he got up and walked over to the boy who peered up at him.

"Um…hi, I'm…B-Brian. This may sound w-weird, but you look a lot like my friend Zi–R-Ricky Kasch. Are you r-related to him in any w-way?" Twitch asked as he fidgeted slightly.

"Yeah, he's my older brother. I'm Eric and this is my best friend Jeff," he said as he nodded towards the other boy.

"Sup?" Jeff asked as he shook Twitch's hand.

"Nothing much," Twitch responded as his eyes trailed over to a car magazine that was on Jeff's desk. "You l-like cars?"

"Jeff's obsessed with them. Every car we pass on the streets he has to talk about it. His favorite is a Ferrari," Eric explained.

"That's a sweet car," Twitch admitted with a nod. "I p-prefer a Mustang C-Convertible myself."

"Was that how you were sent to a Juvenile Detention facility?" Eric questioned. Twitch's eyes got wide as Jeff looked at him in admiration. "My brother sent back letters talking about all of you and how you got there. Stealing a car is pretty impressive, if you ask me."

Twitch smiled as he door opened. He raised his head and saw Glare and Icy walking in. Icy had a sour look on her face while Glare had a tired look on hers.

"You know them?" Eric asked as he turned to look at the twins.

"Yeah…that's M-Matthew and M-Mackenzie Montgomery. They're friends of m-mine from the facility. A bunch of us from the facility came here, actually. I guess you can meet them later," Twitch told them.

"Will we get to meet her?" Eric asked as he glanced over at Icy who was leaning back in her chair and scrolling through her I-pod.

"I w-wouldn't try anything. She's A-Alan's girlfriend, another f-friend from the facility. I guess you can say he's p-protective of her. Unless you want t-to die, I'd st-tay away f-from her."

"We'll see," was all Eric responded as he shared a grin with Jeff. Twitch sighed before walking back to his seat. He glanced up when a girl wearing mostly black passed him and sat in the seat beside Icy. The girl had long black hair that fell into her dark eyes. She wore a black layered t-shirt with gray long sleeves, black baggy cargos, and black vans. She looked over and saw Icy scribbling furiously in a notebook.

"'All Men Are Bastards'" the girl read with amusement in her voice.

"I only write the truth," Icy said with a shrug and a smirk on her face.

"Experience?"

"Just broke up with my boyfriend."

"Unfaithful?"

"Uncaring." Icy looked at the girl with a small smile. "The name's Icy."

"Not your real name, but I won't judge you," the other girl responded with a shrug. "Name's Nikita."

"That can't be your real name either."

"Won't lie to you on that." Nikita looked at the boy sitting next to her. "That your brother?"

"My twin brother, yeah. His name's Glare."

"He looks like a big softy to me."

"He is…unless you get him mad."

"Ahhh," Nikita said with a nod. "Never seen you before."

"Yeah, I just moved here from Florida," Icy responded as she shifted in her seat a little bit. She tapped her chin before asking, "Are you some time of Goth?"

"You could say that, but I'm not the stereotyped kind. For one, Goths aren't as, shall I say, crazy as I am," Nikita responded with a hint of pride in her voice. Icy couldn't help but laugh at her straightforwardness.

The day went by slowly for D-Tent. Every class they went into they had to stand at the front and talk about themselves before they were allowed to sit down. Every class that Squid, Zigzag, and Glare entered the girls would stare; same for Icy but with the guys. She ignored all of them as she either listened to music or drew, ignoring the teachers. They didn't do anything to her because they didn't know _what _to do. By the time it was lunc, Icy was really greatful. She met up with Nikita again in the lunch line. She was staring hard at her jello.

"Is something wrong with the food here?" Icy questioned as she looked at her hamburger before glancing at Nikita.

"You don't know what these lunch ladies put in this food." Nikita told her. "They could be bugging our food to find out what we think so they can brainwash us." She then stood and Icy noticed that she wasn't that tall; she only came up to Icy's shoulder and she was only 5'3.

"You remind me of a friend of mine," Icy said as she scanned the room. Glare waved her over and she waved back. "C'mon, I want to introduce you to my friends. You'll like them a lot. They're...unique." Icy led her over to their table and she sat down next to her twin, Nikita was on her free side at the end of the table. "Guys, this is my new friend Nikita. Nikita, this is X-Ray, Magnet, Armpit, Zigzag, Caveman, Zero, Glare, Twitch, and that thing over there is Squid."

"Why'd a vampire in school?" Zigzag questioned as he tilted his head in confusion. "I thought they couldn't stay in the light." The guys sighed as they rolled their eyes. Nikita just smiled.

"I'm only a half vampire; I can stay in the light as long as I want," she responded casually. Icy tried not to laugh as Zigzag's eyes widened. Her smile faded when the girl from before walked up and placed a hand on Squid's shoulder.

"Aren't you going to introduce me to your friends, Squidly?" She asked with a giggle. Twitch and Glare exchanged glances while Magnet made a face.

"Um, ok…this is Jennifer. Jen, this is…Rex, José, Theodore, Ricky, Stanley, Hector, Matthew, Brian, Nikita, and…my ex Mackenzie," he responded slowly.

"So _you're_ the girl he's been telling me about," Jennifer said as she smiled brightly. "He had a lot to say about you."

"Oh yeah? Like what?" Icy's voice was filled with venom as she gritted her teeth and clenched her hands into fists.

"Down girl," Nikita said with a laugh. "Don't want to become a murder."

'_Too late'_ Icy thought to herself as she forced herself to take a deep breath.

"Hey Ricky, who're your friends?" Eric asked as he walked up with Jeff. "We all ready know Brian and Alan."

"Oh, well, that's Stanley, Hector, José, Rex, Matthew, Mackenzie, and meet the first hald-vampire ever, Nikita," Zigzag responded as he pointed to everyone.

"I'm Ricky's brother Eric and this is my best friend Jeff," he said as he motioned towards him. He smiled at Icy as he asked, "You're in my History class right?"

"Yeah," Icy stated bluntly as she looked up at him.

"Eric, go away," Zigzag said sternly.

"What? I'm just talking!"

"Go. NOW!"

"Someone's nice to their brother," Nikita said as she watched Eric and Jeff walk off.

"Yeah, well, when you live with a million siblings you get annoyed easily."

"Well, I'll see you at my locker Squidly," Jennifer said as she gave his shoulder a squeeze before walking away. He noticed everyone at the table starting at him.

"What?" He asked in annoyance.

"You told her your name?" X-Ray asked slowly. "You're dating Icy and you–"

"I'm not dating Icy," Squid interrupted in a somewhat harsh voice. "Not anymore."

"I feel less suffocated now," Icy commented.

"Why do you have to be such a bitch?"

"Why do you have to be a self-centered bastard?"

And it went all down hill from there…

----------------------

"Since this is your first day of school, we'll let you off with a warning. But we had to call your parents and ask them to come down here to tell them the rules of this school, since you three can't seem to follow them," the principle, Mrs. Johnson, said as she paced in front of Icy, Zigzag, and Squid who were sitting in three chairs looking pissed, glum, and annoyed. Icy sported a black eye and a couple of scratches. Zigzag had a couple of scratches and some bruises; a cut below his eye was bleeding a little, and Squid had an ice-pack held up to an eye, he also had a couple of bruises and scratches. And all of them were covered in food.

"Fighting in my school, I can't believe this. I took you juvenile delinquents in to prove that school can change you. But you brought your…ways into my school and I won't have it! If I hear of this again you will face detention. Two time then it's suspension. Another, and it's expulsion! You understand?"

"Yes m'am," the three responded in unison.

"That should be your parents. You'll wait right here until I come and get you."

"Yes m'am."

The three waited for the principle to leave the room before they started talking.

"I can't afford a suspension _or_ an expulsion," Squid said in a quiet voice. "So…if you need a ride, I'll drive you to the clinic."

"That won't be necessary," Icy said slowly.

"Why not?" Zigzag questioned as he leaned over to look at her. Her head was bent and her hands were in her lap.

"Because…it's gone. The baby…miscarriage."

"How do you know?"

"A girl can just tell. It's like intuition." Icy sighed before looking at the ceiling. "This is my fault. All of it. I should've seen this coming."

"What do you mean?" Squid asked.

"Everyone around me…gets hurt. No matter where I go and no matter what I do, that always happens. Pain follows me around like a shadow ever since I was born. I always thought, if I had a kid, that things would change. But obviously it didn't."

"Part of this is my fault too," Squid reminded her. "I realize now that I wasn't ready to take care of a kid. If I listened to you in the first place…"

"But if you did, then you wouldn't be the Squid I know and love."

"You still love me?" he asked in shock.

"Yeah, my feelings for you won't go away just by a small argument."

"So…you two are back together?" Zigzag asked hopefully.

"Mackenzie?" Principle Johnson questioned as she opened the door. Icy sighed and stood before making her way towards the door. A man walked in and Icy gasped. She backed up as her eyes widened and a smile crossed the man's face.

"N-no! It can't be you!" She cried out as she shook with fear. "D-Dad?"

"I've come to bring you home, princess," he said with a smile.


	6. Behind Closed Doors

**Chapter Six-Behind Closed Doors **

"H-How can you be here?" Icy whispered as she continued to back away from him and into Squid's gentle yet firm grasp. "You should be…you should be…"

"I got out," he responded simply. "I wanted to see my little angle again." He reached out and lightly touched her cheek as she tensed. "I'm a changed man, Mackenzie. Now come on, I'm taking you home."

"Do G—Matt and Max know you're taking me home? I need to make sure they have a ride back," Icy responded.

"Heh heh, you don't understand. I'm not taking you back to where ever you're staying, I'm taking you back to my apartment ot live with me." He paused when he saw the look of horror on her face. "Don't worry; you can still come to this school."

"No dad! I'm not going with you!"

A smirk came across his face as he looked over at Squid and Zigzag who were tense but never said anything. He laughed before asking, "Who're these two?"

"My boyfriend Squid and my best friend Zigzag," Icy responded as Squid tightened his grip on her arms.

"You've been touching my daughter?" Mr. Montgomery demanded as he glared down at Squid.

"Get outta my face!" Squid snapped.

"We're leaving," Mr. Montgomery said firmly as he turned towards the door.

"I'm not going anywhere with you!" Icy growled.

"You're _not_ staying with your siblings!"

"Then I'll stay with Squid and Zigzag."

"Like hell you will! You're coming with me, _and that's final_!"

"Is there a problem here, Malcolm?" Principle Johnson asked as she opened the door to the office.

"No m'am, we're just leaving," Malcolm Montgomery responded in a fake cheerful voice as he grabbed Icy by her upper arm and pulled her out of Squid's grasp. He dragged her out of the office and slammed the door shut behind them.

"We have to do something, Zig. I know he's going to hurt her…or worse," Squid said as she turned towards Zigzag.

"We don't have any proof. It's not like we can just go to the police…besides, I don't want the Warden to find me. She could be residing there."

Squid rolled his eyes but turned his attention back towards the door as Leon and Lena rushed into the room and began to talk to them at the same time.

---

Glare sighed as he opened the door to the house and stepped inside. He closed it behind him and dropped his backpack on the ground by the front door as he made his way into the den where Shorty was sitting in front of the tv.

"How was your first day?" He asked as she kissed the top of her head and sat down on the couch.

"Really cool. I like the school a lot and the other kids were nice to me, although some of them knew I was sent to a correctional facility. How was your first day?" She questioned without taking her eyes off of the screen.

"Interesting. I met a lot of new people. The guys are nice, but the girls won't leave me alone." He sighed as he ran a hand through his hair.

"They like you, duh. It's not _that_ hard to figure out." She turned around and grinned at him before adding seriously. "I heard Icy and Squidly got in a fight. Are things ok between them?"

"Hard to tell. One minute they seem to hate each other, the next they're hugging. I think it's an on and off relationship numerous times in an hour.' Glare laughed as Shorty smiled. "Have you seen Icy, by any chance?"

"Not since this morning," Shorty said as she shook her head. "I'm pretty sure she's out with Zigzag or Squid or both though. She'll be fine."

"All right. I'm going to do my homework. Call me once you're hungry, ok?"

"Ok."

But Glare couldn't concentrate on his homework. Worry for his sister took him over as he looked out the window constantly to see if he sister made it home. When darkness fell and his sister still wasn't back, worry quickly set in. He picked up his phone and pressed 2 on his speed dial. He drummed his fingers on his desk as he waited for someone to pick up.

"_Hello?_" Zigzag's voice floated out.

"He Zig, it's Glare. It's Icy with you, she hasn't come home yet."

"_Well...she's with your dad. I thought you knew that."_

"With dad? How can she be with dad, he shouldn't be here."

"_He picked her up from the principle's office and took her to his apartment. I seriously thought you knew, Glare. I'm sorry, I should've called you before." _

"Don't beat yourself up about it, Zig. It's all right. I'll see you later."

"_All right, man. Later._"

Glare hung up the phone as he clenched his teeth, Sure, he's been mad before, but now he was furious! His father shouldn't have gotten her, for one thing he shouldn't even be out of jail! But not telling him that he took her with him was crossing the line! He cursed loudly, wich he only did when he was _really_ mad, and slammed his fist down on his desk.

"Glare? What's wrong?" Shorty asked as she ran into his room.

"That bastard of a father has Icy!" He growled as he pushed past her and went out the door.

"What!? He should be in jail! How'd he get out?" Shorty asked as she followed him down the stairs.

"How should I know? But what I _do_ know is that I'm going to get her back and I'm going to leave dad in pieces!"

"I'll come with you," Shorty said as she reached for her shoes.

"No! You stay here, eat your dinner, and get to bed!" Glare practically yelled at her as she stopped in her tracks. She bit her lower lip as tears came to her eyes. She's never cried in a long time, not when the worst thing that could happen to her has happened to her. Glare had never yelled at her like that and she knew he must be furious.

_'I never knew Glare could be so mean when he's mad. I hope he doesn't kill daddy. Although, he _does_ deserve it. I hope Icy's ok and dad won't hurt her or touch her or anything. I need her back, she's the one that helps me keep going when things are going wrong. Daddy, please don't hurt her. Glare, please don't hurt daddy. Just bring Icy home safely." _

Glare pulled out his cell phone and started to call the apartments in the city. He knew it would take a while until he found the right one, but he would keep going until he found her. After numerous calls he finally found the right apartment. He quickly ran to a bus stop and got on the bus that was getting ready to leave. The anger that surged through him kept him from getting out of breath from all of his running.

After taking two buses he finally made it to the apartment, panting heavily. He quickly walked inside and asked the person at the front desk which room his father was in. Once he found out he charged up the stairs until he found the right room.

"Dad? You open this door right now or I will break it down!" Glare yelled as he pounded on the door. He paused to hear Icy's cries of pain along with Malcolm's muffled shouts and things falling to the floor. "OPEN THIS GODDAMN DOOR!" Growling, Glare backed up and slammed his foot against the door, making it fly open on its hinges. He glared when he looked across the room and saw that Malcolm had Icy in his grip by her hair and was slamming her head against the wall, ignoring her cries of pain. He grabbed his father by the back of his shirt and pulled him off of his sister. He slammed Malcolm into the wall and began to punch him in the face.

Malcolm kneed Glare and he let his father go as he clutched his stomach. Malcolm punched him in the face, knocking him over. Malcolm began to kick Glare as he curled up in a ball, holding his arms in front of his face to protect himself. Malcolm then grabbed Glare and slammed him into the wall before he sunk to his knees, pain pulsating throughout his body.

"You should've just stayed away!" Malcolm hissed as he slammed Glare's head back into the wall. Glare cried out in pain, but he ignored it as he slammed his son's head into the wall again.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Icy yelled as she jumped onto Malcolm's back and began to punch him in the face. He threw Icy off him easily and gave her a sharp kick to the stomach. She coughed hard as she tried to get to her feet. He kicked her again as he forgot about Glare for a moment and began to hurt her again. He grabbed a beer bottle and smashed it against her cheek. She cried out in pain as blood started to drip down her cheeks. Malcolm then grabbed her by the throat and easily lifted her into the air as she tried to make him let go of his grip. She thrashed and kicked as she raised her hands to his hand but he squeezed tighter.

"You look like her…you killed her…you deserve to die!" He shouted as he continued to squeeze her throat. Icy made a chocking sound as she still tried to pry his hands off of her throat. Glare, in pain, slowly reached out towards the broken beer bottle and held it by the neck. He raised it and slammed it down on Malcolm's back. He screamed in pain, whirled around, and backhanded Glare. He hit the wall with so much force he fell unconscious. Malcolm dropped Icy who was on the ground coughing and trying to get air into her lungs. "Clean up this mess," was all he said as he closed the front door and retreated to his room.

Ignoring the pain, icy crawled over to her twin and pulled his head into her lap as she absentmindedly stroked his dark hair softly. She wiped the blood off of his face with her sleeve and gently rocked him, ignoring the blood that fell down her cheeks.

"Everything will be all right," she muttered. "We'll get away from him soon enough. I promise, we will get away and we'll be safe."

When she got her strength back, Icy helped Glare stand and, together, they slowly made their way back to their place. Once they entered their house they collapsed on the couch and went to sleep. Shorty woke up the next morning and saw the state they were in. She decided that they weren't going to school and she would stay to take care of them.

"I just have this bad feeling, Ziggy," Squid said that day as he pulled his books out of his locker. "Something happened to them, I just know it."

"We can swing by their place after school is over if you're that worried," Zigzag reassured him.

The day went by too slowly for Squid as he waited to go check on his friends. He stopped by the lower school to pick up his sister. Some of the little kids stared up at them, amazed at how tall they were. When they reached Ally's classroom, she and Maggie ran out and hugged their brothers.

"Hey Al, how're you doing?" Squid asked once he put her down.

"I'm good, but worried. Max wasn't here today. She loves school," Ally responded as she looked up at him.

"Don't worry, we're going to go check on them right now," Squid reassured her as he ruffled her hair. She smiled up at him as she took his hand and gave it a small squeeze "They're fine, I'm sure of it. Zigzag, maybe we should call your parents first to tell them where we'll be."

"Why would you do that?" A voice asked. Squid visibly tensed as Ally whimpered and moved closer to Squid who held her tight. He could feel her shaking against her side as Alexis, his mother, and a man, whom he guessed was Duke, walked over to them. "We're taking you home, honey," Alexis said with a smile that was directed towards Squid.

"You should be in rehab!" Squid said as he held Ally tighter and pulled her closer to him.

"I'm cured. Duke came to take me out to dinner to celebrate. He wants you two to come with us too. It can be a family get-together. I really missed my baby," Alexis said as she moved towards him but he backed away.

"How's my little girl?" Duke asked as he knelt down by Ally's side and held out his arms towards her.

"Alan, don't let him touch me," Ally cried as she tried to hide behind him.

"Maggie, go and get your stuff, all right?" Zigzag asked her quietly.

"But what's going on?" She asked innocently.

"Just go."

"All right."

Zigzag stood at his full height and looked down at Duke and Alexis. He cleared his throat and said, "Not to be rude, m'am, but I don't think that they want to go with you. They're doing fine staying with me and my family and–"

"I don't see you having custody rights over them!" Duke said as he glanced over at Zigzag. "C'mon kids, we're leaving."

"I'll call you once I get home," Squid said with a sigh.

"Stay safe," Zigzag murmured as he glared over at Duke. Squid nodded and slowly followed his mother and Duke out of the school. Ally hesitated but followed him anyway, shaking slightly. Zigzag sighed.

_'I have to do something to help my friends, but there really isn't much I can do. Just please stay safe until I can help you.'_


	7. Twitch in Trouble

**Chapter Seven-Twitch in Trouble **

"Hey man, how're you doing?" Eric greeted Twitch with a salute as he sat down in his chair.

"Ok. How about you?" Twitch questioned as Jeff turned around in his seat to face his friends.

"Still trying to get Ricky to talk to me about that Montgomery girl. I mean, I can't even say hi to her. It seems to me like _he's_ the one dating her, by how protective he is over her. But, I'm not worried, she's going to have to break up with Alan sooner or later."

"Atta boy, keep your eye on the prize!" Jeff said encouragingly as he and Eric high fived each other. "You two doing anything on Friday?"

"Not that I know of," Twitch responded.

"Great, because we're going to an auto show."

"Are you serious? That was sold out when I tried to get tickets to it!"

Twitch couldn't hide his excitement. He _loves_ cars, any model and year. That's the reason he was sent to Camp Green Lake in the first place, he hotwired a Mustang Convertible, among other cars, and got caught. He would do it all over again if it meant riding in another Mustang Convertible, it was seriously worth it.

"I'm serious, and us three are going," Jeff responded with a bright smile.

"Jeff, you rule!"

"I seriously don't understand what's with you guys and cars…" Eric muttered. "But I might as well come with you so you won't do anything stupid."

"Have you looked in a mirror lately? _You're_ the one who does stupid things when that Montgomery girl is around," Jeff said with a laugh. "Like yesterday, you dropped your books when she passed by, and later that same day, you dropped your lunch on the floor when she passed you."

"Shut up, man!" Eric snapped as he glared. "Speaking of which, where is she today?"

"Maybe she's sick," Twitch suggested as he shrugged.

"On the second day of school? Like that's possible."

Twitch just shrugged again as he thought about the auto show and how he got caught in the first place.

**-Flashback-**

_"C'mon man, just do it." _

_"I don't know." _

_"You're an expert in this field! Just hotwire this sucker and drive it to my place and we'll finally have the car we deserve to drive." _

_"But Chris-" _

_"Man, I should've known not to trust you! You're such a wimp! I knew you could't do it!" _

_"I'll do it! And I'll prove I'm no wimp!" _

_"Show me then." _

_Hesitating, Twitch stared at the car that was parked next to the sidewalk. He knew this was wrong, but he wanted the car so bad. And he was starting to Twitch, which was a bad sign. He always started to twitch like that when he passed a really cool car. And this time was no different. _

_"C'mon man!" _

_Sighing, Twitch reached his arm through the window slot. He wiggled it around as Chris looked around to make sure no one was coming their way. His fingers reached down and hooked around the door lock and pulled it up. He slowly slid his arm out and opened the door to get behind the wheel. Once he was sitting there he took a moment to really admire the beauty of the convertible. After taking a couple of looks around he broke some wires under the dashboard with a pair of pliers and a small knife. He quickly deactivated the alarm and got to work. His heart pounded in his chest as he started to work faster. He held to wires together and smiled when he heard the engine start up. He motioned for Chris to get inside, grinning. But what he saw made his blood run cold. Chris was gone, and making his way towards him was a police officer. The only thing he could think of doing was flooring the gas and getting out of there as fast as he could. _

_Although he was underage, he knew how to drive. His father let him practice in their secluded neighborhood, there was no way he could get caught, but this was different. Twitch was slammed back into his seat as the car shot forward; he quickly grabbed the wheel and turned it to avoid a 4x4 that he was getting ready to crash into. All ready two police cars were chasing after him as fear gripped his heart. _

_Adrenaline pulsed at his veins as he swerved dangerously left and right, trying to avoid other cars that were in his way. He just wanted to escape the police, not kill anyone. _

_But you can't always get what you want. _

_Twitch was caught after he slammed his car into a grocery store. _

_He killed three people on contact, injured two. _

_And was sent to Camp Green Lake for the next eighteen months. _

**-End Flashback-**

"Brian, you all right?" Eric asked as he waved a hand in front of Twitch's face. "You look like you're having a spasm."

"I'm f-f-fine," he responded as he continued to twitch in his seat.

"I think you should see he nurse anyway, man," Jeff told him.

"I-I'm f-fine. R-Really guys," Twitch tried to convince them as he smiled a little. But deep down inside, he was hurting.

"Whatever you say, man."

Twitch's twitching decreased over the next forty-five minutes as class was ending. He was barely twitching as he left the classroom and went to his locker. Eric and Jeff followed, concern written on their faces. Twitch went through the rest of the day with that memory stuck in his head, replaying over and over again. He could never get over the fact that his mom was afraid of him when he got back from camp. She was afraid that he'd hurt her and his little brother. That's what hurt him more than anything.

He tried to pay attention in the rest of his classes, but it didn't work that well. He zoned out in every class and even fell asleep in one. His friends could see that something was wrong, but he wouldn't tell them, not even Caveman and Zero, and he trusted them the most out of anyone in D-Tent.

"Twitch, have you noticed something going on within D-Tent?" Caveman had asked him one day as they ate lunch outside. He, Caveman, and Zero were sitting underneath the huge tree out on the front lawn.

"Like what?" He questioned before he took a sip of his chocolate milk.

"Zigzag and Squid are closer together than before. I mean, they were friends all ready, but now they spend more time with each other than with the rest of us."

"Well, you and Zero are the same," Twitch had pointed out. "You two are really close because you live next door and all. Then X-Ray and Armpit are close friends, and then Magnet and Glare, and Icy and Nikita…where does that leave me?"

Caveman didn't know the answer to that.

Twitch felt lonely sometimes when it was all of D-Tent hanging out together, but he had Eric and Jeff too. He knew that eventually they would grow apart, but he was hoping it wouldn't be that soon. he wasn't good with changes.

"You want to come over after school, Brian?" Jeff asked him as he unlocked his bike from the bike rack.

"Nah, I'm good. I'm going to walk home…get some things straight in my head," he responded as he exchanged high fives with Eric and Jeff. He waved as they rode off on their bikes and dropped his hand. "I don't understand," he muttered to himself as he started to walk down the street. "Everyone in D-Tent have some sort of respect. What about me? I'm like a shadow in the background; I don't even thin some of them like me. _I_ deserve some respect too."

Twitch suddenly stopped when he felt a twitch shoot through his whole body. He slowly turned his head and saw a Ferrari parked in front of a house. He could feel his eyelid spasm as he continued to stare at the car.

_You can do this, Twitch. Just keep on walking. _

He started to walk past the car but something inside him made him stop right there.

**_Take the car, Twitch. You know you want it. _**

Twitch shook his head as he started walking again but soon found himself staring across the street at the Ferrari, his twitch getting worse with every passing second.

_Keep walking! _

**_Take the car! _**

_Keep walking! _

**_You know you want it! _**

_You'll get caught again. Don't risk it! Don't risk it! _

**_Take it! _**

_Don't risk it! _

**_Take it! _**

_Don't risk it! _

The next thing he knew he was sitting behind the wheel of the car and was driving smoothly down the street. Adrenaline rushed through his veins again as he tried to slow down his racing heart. He just drove around until the day melted into night and he knew the streets of the city like the cars in a magazine.

He stopped at a grocery store to bring back some food to his family. If his mom asked for an explanation of why he was late. Sighing, he packed the food into the seat next to him and planned to leave the car somewhere near his house but far away so they wouldn't think he'd take it. He stopped at a red light and was tapping his fingers against the wheel. He tensed when he heard police sirens in the distance. They got louder and louder as he beggingly stared at the light. Once he saw it in the rearview mirror he panicked and floored the gas pedal. He shot forward and drove away a couple of feet before he hit something hard. He slammed on the breaks and he started to shake in fear.

_'No. Not again! I didn't hit someone, I didn't…' _

He forced himself to get out of the car and stood facing forward. He finally willed himself to turn around and almost fainted on the pavement. He recognized the kid he had run over. Her recognized the style of the hair and the shape of the body.

He had just hit Shorty.

"Oh god, no!" He chocked out as he ran back and dropped down to her side. "No no no no no! Shorty, please wake up! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

He ignored the police officers that ran up to him and were trying to pull him away from Shorty, but Twitch held on tightly. He couldn't hear her breathing and he couldn't feel a pulse. But he knew, _he just knew_, that she wasn't dead.

"Shorty! Shorty! Wake up! Please, wake up!" Twitch sobbed as he held her close. He didn't care that he was sitting in the middle of the street, he didn't care that people were honking horns at him. He wasn't moving until she woke up. "I'm sorry Shorty, I'm sorry. I knew I shouldn't have done it, but I had to! You have to understand, I'd never want to hurt you! Please understand! I'd never hurt your Shorty! Never, ok? So please, wake up!"

"Sir, sir, we're going to have to take her away," an officer said gentle as men from an ambulance came over with a stretcher.

"NO!" Twitch screamed. "No! You can't take her from me!" Tears were falling freely down his cheeks, his eyes were red and puffy from his crying.

"We have to help her, or she'll die," he said as he placed a hand on Twitch's shoulder. He finally let go of his grip as they gently picked Shorty up and placed her on a stretcher. "You're going to have to come with us, son." Twitch lifted his head and looked at the officer in fear.

"Why?" He asked.

"Because you stole a car, drove over the speed limit, and you may have killed that little girl," he responded as he shoved Twitch up against the Ferrari as he slapped cold handcuffs over his wrists.

"How much trouble am I in?" Twitch managed to ask.

"It depends on whether or not the little girl dies."

Twitch suddenly felt numb as he was shoved in the back of a police car and he was driven away from the scene. He knew he wouldn't be able to face the Montgomerys again, if he wasn't being sent to jail. How would everyone else in D-Tent respect him now? He was numb to the shoving and jabbing to his back once they reached the police station.

_'I'm sorry mom, I'm sorry Braden, I'm sorry D-tent, I'm sorry Icy, I'm sorry Glare. I'm sorry, God. Please forgive me for what I have done. If you're up there, somewhere, please forgive me.' _

Twitch didn't cry as they got his fingerprints.

Twitch didn't cry as they called his parents to tell them what happened.

But he broke down when he was placed into a jail cell and the metallic clang echoed in his head.

He just sat on the bed and cried.

----

"Why're you so quiet, Ricky?" Liam asked him that night as they ate dinner. He just shrugged as he continued eating. Squid noticed that also but hadn't said anything as he continued eating. Dinner that night was unusually quiet. The telephone ringing was the only noise that was in the house. Zigzag pushed back his chair from the table and went to get the phone. Squid heard Zigzag talking softly and chill went down his spine for some reason. He didn't look up until he felt Zigzag staring at him.

It was then he knew something was wrong.

"Shorty…she's in the hospital. She got run over by a car," Zigzag choked out. Squid's world seemed to stop as his mouth dropped open. He could only asked softly, "Who?"

"Twitch," Zigzag whispered.


	8. Coping

**Chapter Eight-Coping **

Icy sighed as she dropped down on the couch. Glare was out cold and his condition hadn't improved. Shorty and Icy were afraid to take him to the hospital because the nurses would find out they were abused and then they would be split up, and they didn't need any more stress in their lives. Icy was a fast healer, so she was up and about helping Shorty take care of Icy.

"Don't you think we should go to the clinic?" Shorty asked as they were changing the bandages that were wrapped around Glare's head.

"What made you ask that?" Icy questioned as she gently wiped away the blood that was on his forehead. She stopped to see if he had moved, but he didn't.

"The baby might not be dead. If it's not, then there can be birth complications or it could be affected in the way it grows or something." Shorty responded as she rewrapped his forehead. "You can still have it and give it up for adoption. That way, you won't have to worry about being a teenage mother."

"Shorty," Icy said as she looked over at her. "The. Baby. Is. Dead. I can tell, so don't ask me how I know. Just get your mind off of it. It was a mistake and it's been solved, almost like the other mistakes in our lives."

"_What_ other mistakes in our lives, exactly?"

"I'll tell you when you're older."

Shorty just kept her mouth shut as she sat back and sighed. The minutes dragged by as the sisters watched to see if Glare's condition would improve. As the day dragged on they continued to get more worried. Icy finally decided that they should go to the hospital.

"How are we going to get there exactly?" Icy asked herself.

"We can get Squid to drive us," Shorty suggested.

"And risk him getting involved? I don't think so. I'll…just drive us there," she said as she walked over to the jar that held the keys. She pulled them up and twirled them around her finger before returning to the den where Glare was still sitting on the couch.

"I don't think this is such a good idea," Shorty said as she followed Icy into the den. "They're going to need to talk to a parent. Who're we going to get to come?"

"I'll handle that once we get there. Now help me get him to the car," Icy responded as she bent over and struggled to get her brother into her arms. His head rolled back, but Shorty pushed it up as they quickly went out to the car that was sitting in the driveway. After buckling themselves in, Icy started the car. She sighed with relief before shifting the shift in reverse. She guided the car out of the driveway before putting it into drive and starting off down the street. Shorty glanced out the windows somewhat anxiously as she gave Icy directions. Icy seemed tense as she drove to the hospital and kept glancing at Glare out of the corner of her eye in case he woke up. She sighed heavily and with relief once they pulled into the hospital parking lot.

They rushed inside and got him admitted to a room. Shorty played with some games that were in the waiting room as Icy paced back and forth, waiting for the news of her twin. Shorty persuaded her to relax and read to her. Icy agreed and started to read a _Harry Potter_ book to her. Shorty fell asleep as the night dragged on and Icy stayed up gently rocking her as she waited for news.

Finally it came.

"Hi, I'm Dr. Lynch, are you relatives to Matthew Montgomery?" She questioned.

"Seeing as we're the only ones in the waiting room, yeah," Icy responded somewhat rudely. "Is my brother ok?"

"He's suffering from head injuries…he's in a coma right now."

"That's all right…when will he wake up?"

"There's a 50-50 chance that he'll wake up."

"Oh…I understand." Icy said softly as she looked over at her sleeping sister. "Do me and favor, and don't tell her yet. I want to tell her myself when the timing is right."

"My lips are sealed. In the meantime you're welcome to stay here as long as you want," Dr. Lynch said before she walked off, a clipboard in her hand.

Icy felt numb as she sat down in her chair, Shorty's head resting in her lap as she slept peacefully. She didn't understand what was going on and what has happened to her older brother, and Icy didn't know how she was going to tell Shorty. She gently brushed Shorty's black hair out of her cherubic face as she rested her head against the wall and thought. Shorty woke up complaining of hunger.

"Well…we could always get some cafeteria food," Icy suggested.

"No way," Shorty said as she made a face. "I'll just go across the street and get some burgers or something."

"Not by yourself you're not!" Icy scolded her.

"Ice, one of us has to stay here to hear about Glare. It'll only take me a second," Shorty pleaded.

"All right, all right. Just don't take too long." Shorty nodded and held out her hand. "What do you want?"

"Food isn't going to pay for itself. _And I'm not stealing any either!_"

Icy rolled her eyes and slapped money into Shorty's palm. She gave her a quick hug before skipping out of the hospital. She walked out into the night and down the sidewalk. She walked all the way up to a crosswalk and stared hungrily at the McDonald's on the other side. Waiting as the WALK sign came on she hummed to herself and danced a little. Once the WALK sig appeared she started across the street, ignoring the police sirens that seemed to be coming closer.

She was a little bit more than halfway across the street when she got hit.

**-End Flashback-**

Icy rested her head against the glass of the room that both Glare and Shorty shared. Glare was still in a coma but Shorty was just unconscious. They didn't know when she'd be conscious again, or if she would be for that matter. She sighed heavily. She seemed to be doing that a lot lately. Everything around her seemed to be falling apart and she had no control of her life anymore.

"Hey, I came as fast as I heard," Nikita said as she ran down the hall, panting slightly.

"Thanks for commin'," Icy muttered before turning around to look at her. Nikita was wearing a pair of sunglasses and a dark hat pulled down lower over her face. "Why're you wearing that?"

"You want a vampire to die in really bright florescent light? I don't think so!" Nikita responded as she lowered the hat even more. Icy couldn't help but laugh at that. Nikita seemed to be the only one that made her laugh recently. "So…what's going to happen to Twitch?"

"He's been sent to jail. He's sentenced to 10-15 years. I want to bail him out because I know he didn't do it on purpose, but no one else in D-Tent will help me."

"Hello, you have me! You're faithful vampire, at your service, twenty-four seven," Nikita exclaimed as she punched Icy in the shoulder. "Except when it's extremely bright outside at least. You don't want the only vampire you know to die."

"Are you _really _a vampire?"

"Have you seen my teeth?" Nikita opened her mouth to show off her unusually long canines. She smiled triumphantly as Icy raised her eyebrows. "You must be depressed, not having anyone to stay with."

"No, um…I'm going to stay with my dad," Icy responded. Nikita sensed uncertainty, but didn't say anything. "But I don't really want to. Can I stay with you?"

"No! You can't…we're being fumigated. We're going to stay with my Aunt and she's not good with strangers. Sorry."

"It's all right."

Nikita thought for a second before suddenly grabbing Icy's hand and dragging her down the hallway.

"What're you doing?" Icy asked as she followed Nikita down the hall.

"Relax, I'm not a lesbian, if that's what you're thinking." Nikita laughed as she continued to pull Icy out of the hospital. Icy blinked as she allowed herself to be pulled away from the hospital. She couldn't stand being in that depressing place any longer.

"Where are we going?"

"Just trust me. We're going somewhere that will cheer you up."

"You better be right."

-----

"_This_ is supposed to cheer me up?" Icy questioned as she and Nikita walked into the Kasch house. Zigzag closed the door behind them and led them down into the basement where he, his siblings, Squid, and Ally were hanging out.

"Sure, little kids always cheer _me_ up, I know you're a little kid type person," she responded as she joined Rachel on a dance pad so they could play DDR. Icy dropped down on the couch with a heavy sigh as she watched Samantha and Riley play ping pong.

"How're you holding up?" Squid asked as he pulled her into a hug.

"Good I guess," she responded with a shrug as she rested her head on his chest. "I just…never knew how close I was to them until this happened."

"Things will get better."

"Can you promise me that?"

"…I'll try."

"So Zigzag, how'd those two meet anyway? Her being from Florida and all, seems like they were dating before they came here, y'know?" Nikita asked him as she walked over to the mini fridge and got a soda.

"Them? Oh, they met, by…uh…y'know, I really don't know how they met," he responded as he kept his eyes glued to the ping pong table, a smirk on his face as he played against Liam. "Never told me, didn't bother to ask."

"Ok, how'd you meet Squid and your other friends? And I want the truth, not a lie like you just fed me."

Zigzag missed the ping pong ball and looked up at her. Her hazel eyes sparkled mischievously as she grinned at him. Liam raised an eyebrow but joined his siblings by the tv.

"All right," Zigzag said as he ran a hand though his wild blond hair. "Squid, and Icy, and my other friends and I are from a juvenile delinquent facility. We did some bad things in our past and the camp we were in had closed recently. We needed an education so we were sent to Greenlake High."

"I'm guessing you had to be sent there for a reason? Icy, why'd you get sent there?" Icy lowered her head and bit her lip before jumping up and racing up the stairs. "Did I say something wrong?"

"She's…sensitive about why she was sent there," Squid responded before getting up and following her.

"Why were _you_ sent there?" Nikita questioned, turning to Zigzag.

"I set a class room on fire," he responded casually.

"Too cool! How big were the flames? What color were they?"

Zigzag titled his head as Nikita continued asking questions about the fire. He had never met a pyro manic before and he never thought that he would. She was the only person, besides Squid and Icy, who didn't think he was crazy. She was pretty crazy herself, claiming she's a vampire and all, but to Zigzag she was…normal.

"Ziggy, you all right? You know, I heard that if you stare at someone you're absorbing their life forms," Nikita said as she waved her hand in front of Zigzag's face.

"Want to go out with me?" Zigzag suddenly asked her.

"Hmmm…a pyromaniac and a vampire out on a date…" Nikita tapped her chin. "Sounds like fun!"

----

"Icy, tell me what's wrong, please?" Squid begged, which was unlike him. He had gotten Icy to calm down and pulled him into the room he shared with Zigzag to talk to her. All she did was roll around the room on Zigzag's swivel chair, muttering things under her breath. "Icy!" He placed a foot in front of the chair, making it stop abruptly. "You need to talk about this."

"Talk about what?" The harshness in Icy's voice made him flinch. "Talk about how I might have to live with a father who left us for dead for the rest of my life? Talk about how my brother and sister might die because of me? Talk about how everyone I meet, ends up getting hurt? Which would you rather talk about, _Alan_?"

"C'mere," he said as he held out his hand. Icy glared at it as she stayed in the chair. "Don't make me have to use the full name." A smile crossed his face as she stood and walked over towards him. He grabbed her hand and yanked her so she plopped down on his lap.

"What the hell? Lemme go!" She cried out as she blushed heavily.

"Not until you calm down and listen to me," he said as he wrapped his arms around her waist. He waited until she stopped struggling to talk. "All of this, what has happened to you and your siblings, isn't your fault, all right? You didn't have any power over what was going to happen and what has happened, so stop blaming yourself, although I know you well enough that you won't." When she didn't answer he lightly kissed her neck, causing her to squirm. He always got that reaction out of her and he loved being able to manipulate her. "C'mon, be happy. At least, a little happy," Squid said between kisses as he trailed kisses up her neck to her cheek.

"Whatever happened to the badass Squid that I fell in love with?" Icy questioned as Squid looked at her.

"He only shows up at school when other guys are checking his girl out and they need to be put in their places," he responded as he gave her a little squeeze. He then turned her head and kissed her softly. She sighed as she kissed him back and relaxed in his arms. She slid her hands up his arms and gently gripped the but pulled away when he hissed in pain.

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine."

Icy's eyes narrowed as she pushed off of him and stood facing him with her hands on her hips. "Don't lie to me, something's wrong, I know that for sure. It's just a matter of, are you going to tell me?"

"Look, my mom got out of rehab with this Duke guy. There's something about him that I don't like. And before you jump to conclusions, I got a bruise when I was working on a car yesterday."

Icy's face softened when she questioned, "You got a job?"

"As a mechanic, yeah. I'm going to need some money eventually if we're going to live together one day. You, me, and Ally. I'm not going to let her stay with my mom and Duke."

"Now your sweetness is starting to make me sick." Icy grabbed the pillow and hit him across the face. He just smiled a little.

------

"What're you doing here?" Malcolm asked once Icy set foot inside his apartment.

"I need a place to stay," she responded in a shaky voice. "I'm sure you've heard, but Matthew and Maxine are in the hospital and I can't stay at my place by myself. You're the only person left to take care of me and–"

"And take care of you I shall do. Come sit." He patted the seat on the couch next to him. Icy stared at it before stiffly moving over towards the couch. She sat down next to him and he put an arm around her shoulders, pulling her until her head rested on his chest. "I missed my baby girl. We're going to have fun living together. I just know it."

A shiver ran down Icy's spine at those words.

_'Please Glare, get better soon. I need you.' _

She got off of the couch and ran into he bathroom. A wave of nausea hit her hard and made her lose her balance. She crawled over to the toilet, stuck two fingers down her throat, and watched as food came back up and into the toilet.


	9. Mistake Number 1

**Chapter Nine-Mistake # 1 **

"…Ow…"

"Doctor, he's waking up."

"Check his head."

"Someone give him some water."

"We need some anesthetics in here!"

"Owww…my head hurtsss. Where am I? Where am I?" Glare looked around the hospital room, his face twisting in pain every time he turned his neck. "Owww. What's going on? Why does my head hurt so much?"

"You've been through a lot, Matthew," the nurse told him as she gently patted his arm. "Everything will be ok, trust me."

"What's going on?" Glare asked, ignoring the nurse. "Where am I? Where's my family? What happened?"

"Al of these questions will be answered soon enough," the nurse responded as a doctor gripped his arm. "You're going to get some anesthetics, which will take your pain away for a while."

Glare watched as a doctor gripped his arm and sunk a needle into it. He tried to move his head but the doctors and nurses told him it would only make the pain much worse. He figured that they were trying to keep him from seeing his roommate.

_'Shorty…Shorty, where are you?'_ he thought as he stared at the patter on the ceiling.

'_Somewhere dark…I don't know where everyone is..I'm scared, Glare,'_ she responded in a small voice. '_Where are you?'_

_'In the hospital, I think. Do you know why?" _

_'Dad beat you. Icy told me. You hit your head on the wall pretty hard. Do you know why I'm here?' _

_'Here where?' _

_'At the hospital. I can tell that's where I am. Do you know why?' _

_'No…no. You feel close. A..are you in my room?' _

_'It wouldn't surprise me. I need to know what happened! Ask for me, please!' _

_'I promise.' _

"Hey," Glare said softly, catching a nurse's attention. "Why's my sister in here? What happened to her?"

"How did you know that–"

"Please, lady, just answer my question."

"Ok…shortly after you were placed in here, your sister was hit by a car. A boy named Brian hit her. But don't worry; he's doing time in jail so he won't be able to hurt anyone." The nurse smiled before walking out of the room. Glare rested his head on his pillow as he began to think. The room was quiet except for the ticking of a clock and the beeps of the machines around him.

_'Did you find anything out? I couldn't hear her,'_ Shorty's voice entered his head.

_'Yeah…you're in here because you got hit by a car.' _

_'Oh…that explains the pain then. Who hit me?' _

_'A nurse said a kid named Brian hit you…you don't think?' _

_'It couldn't have been him. Not Twitch.' _

_'But you and I both know he was a car problem. And you must've been hit pretty hard while the car was going fast for you to be sent here in this condition.' _

_'It wasn't Twitch!' _

_'How do you know?' _

_'Because I trust him! He wouldn't do this to me or to anyone else in D-Tent. No on purpose!'_

Glare sighed as he looked around at the tubes and needles stuck in him. He didn't want to admit it, but he was deathly afraid of hospitals. Ever since he was sent there when they were kids, he's never wanted to return. He didn't think he'd ever have to return because of his father, or ever. He bit his lip as pain suddenly shot up his legs and stopped at his midsection. He knew that something was happening to Icy if he was feeling this much pain, but he didn't want to know what it was.

He was afraid to know.

"Hey, are you ok?"

Glare tried to lift his head to see who asked the question, but the anesthetic didn't work yet and he dropped it in pain. He heard soft laughter as he gasped softly.

"Spit…Fire?" He questioned in disbelief.

"Happy to see me?" She questioned as she came into his view.

-----

"Hey Ally, Maggie" Icy greeted the small girl as she left her house and jumped into the back of Zigzag's car.

"Hey Mackenzie," they greeted in unison with bright smiles on their faces. Icy saw a bruise forming on the side of Ally's face, but didn't say anything about it.

"How's school for you two?"

"It's really cool!" Ally responded. "I'm glad I can finally go. I hate the homework, but I love to learn."

The rest of the car ride was silent, besides the song playing on the radio. Icy rested her elbow on the side of the car and held her head up with her palm as she dozed off. She hasn't gotten much sleep lately; she's been having nightmares about her father and her siblings. She keeps her door locked at night, afraid that he might come in and do something. She can tell he's getting mad, but he hasn't shown his anger yet. After they dropped off the kids at the school, Icy thought about something.

"Guys, can we not go to school today?" She questioned as she leaned forward so she rested her chin on Squid's shoulder.

"Are you not feeling well?" Zigzag asked as she looked at her out of the corner of his eye.

"I'm not in the mood to go either," Squid said with a sigh. "Let's just skip and go to the movies or something."

"My mom will kill me if she finds out," Zigzag told them.

"Live a little, Ziggy," Icy said as she rolled her eyes at him. Squid grinned over at him as his eyes shifted from the road to his friends and back again.

"All right, all right," he said with a sigh as Icy and Squid cheered like little kids. "But if I get into trouble, I'm bringing you two down with me."

Squid lowered his head. He didn't think of that. Duke would have a better reason to hurt him, if not Ally, while his mom sat by and smoke pot. He didn't understand why she came back if she was only going to suffer from another addiction. He asked her to go back to rehab to get her life straight, but she only slapped him in retaliation. He fought back a couple of times, but that only lead to Duke hurting Ally.

Zigzag looked out of the corner of his eye once he saw Squid lower his head. He knew that Squid was abused, but he still didn't know how to help his friends. He felt torn watching his friends being hurt, but he didn't want to see them being taken away from him or the rest of D-Tent. They were family, right? And family should never be split up, not if they have a choice.

"Pretend this car is a genie and we have three wishes. Squid, what's your wish?" Zigzag asked as he stopped at a red light.

"I wish…we could go see a movie three times in a row," he responded with a smile. "I've always wanted to do that."

"Well, I wish we could go mini-golfing," Zigzag responded. "Icy, what's your wish?"

"I wish we could go visit Twitch," she responded from the back seat. Zigzag and Squid exchanged confused glances.

"We figured you'd be mad at him since–"

"Uh-uh." Icy shook her head to emphasize her point. "I know he didn't do it on purpose, so why be mad at him? It's not like he wanted to kill Shorty, he liked her a lot. I mean, who doesn't? I just want to visit him to make sure he's ok."

Zigzag nodded and turned a corner as the light changed to green. For some reason, Icy got nervous when they got closer to the prison. She knew it wasn't because she was visiting a prison, but because she was going to see Twitch again. Icy stayed close to Squid's side as they passed by police officers.

"Excise me, sir, we're here to see our friend Brian Peterson," Zigzag said to a police officer behind the counter.

"He can only have one visitor," the police officer said as he looked them all in the eye.

"Can I go?" Icy asked Zigzag and Squid. "No offense, but I don't want him to be even more scared then he is now. And you guys practically scared him to death at camp."

"Yeah. Tell him we're all worried about him," Zigzag said with a small smile as he ruffled Icy's hair. She smiled before following the police officer out of the lobby. She avoided eye contact with anyone that was around her. A teen grinned flirtatiously at her but she flipped him off as she continued to follow the police officer until he stopped at a door. "We'll be out here if you need anything. I'm sure you won't because he hasn't attacked anyone, but we're here anyway. You have ten minutes."

"Thank you, sir," Icy said with a nod as she pulled open the door to a room and stepped inside. She tried not to laugh when she saw Twitch wearing an orange jumpsuit and a white t-shirt again. It brought back memories of CGL, some good and some bad. Twitch had his arms crossed as he stared at a blank wall. His black and red visor was backwards on his head, like usual, but it looked dirtier and more tattered before. "Twitch!" he turned around and smiled brightly before walking over to Icy.

"Hey, what're you doing here?" he asked as he gave her a quick hug, which she returned. His smile faded as he looked at her in fear. "I'm sorry about Shorty. I-I didn't meant to do it." He was twitching now, but Icy calmly listened to him. "I-I didn't s-see h-her. Sh-she ca-came out of n-nowhere. Y-You have t-to believe m-m-me!"

"Twitch, calm down, of course I believe you," Icy said as she placed her hands on his shoulders and shook him. "I know you wouldn't hurt my sister–"

"Right," Twitch responded more calmly with a nod. "Because I knew it would end up hurting you even more, after Glare being in the hospital and all." He took a breathe and sighed as he pulled off his visor and ran a hand through his hair. "You're one of my best friends and I don't like seeing you get hurt."

"Thanks, Twitch," Icy said with a small smile as she hugged him again. As she pulled away she placed a light kiss on his cheek.

"What was that for?" He reached his hand up to where she kissed his cheek as his face turned red and he looked at her.

"I don't know, I guess for being honest about this whole thing. Tell you what; I'll help you pay the fine to get out of here. You don't deserve to be in here."

"Oh, I couldn't let you do that," Twitch said as he shook his head.

"But I want to. Everyone in D-Tent are worried and I–"

"Times up," the police officer said as he opened the door to the room.

"You better go," Twitch said as he gently pushed Icy towards the door.

"Don't worry, you'll be out soon. I promise." Icy waved before following the police officer out of the room, back down the hall, and into the lobby where Zigzag and Squid were talking.

"How is he?" Squid asked her as they walked back to the car.

"Ready to get out," was all she responded as she jumped into the back of the car and buckled up. "Where are we headed now? The movies or golfing?"

"Movies," Squid responded quickly as he leaned back against his seat and rubbed his eyes. "Let's go to the movies."

"Why do you want to go to the movies so badly?" Zigzag asked as he suddenly stopped the car.

"I don't want to go _that_ badly. So, can we go before we miss the movie?"

"Alan Smith, you've never played mini-golf before have you?" Icy asked with a grin as she tapped his head.

"Shut up!"

"Ziggy, he hasn't!"

"Mini-golf it is!" Zigzag declared as he turned the car around and started to drive towards the mini-gold course.

-------

"OW! OW! OW! Dad, let go of my ear!" Icy shouted as he shoved her into the apartment.

"How dare you skip school, and with those…_juvenile delinquents!_" Malcolm spat as he shoved Icy. She stumbled but regained her balance as she rubbed her sore ear.

"They're my friends, dad! And one of them is my boyfriend! And, FYI, _I'm_ a juvenile delinquent too!" Icy recoiled as he slapped her cheek. She fell and lie on the floor staring up at the ceiling.

"Don't you _dare_ talk to me like that again!" He shouted as he started to kick her legs. He hit her a couple more times before walking into his room. Sighing, Icy reached for the phone and quietly pressed buttons.

"Hola?" Magnet's thick Spanish accent came in through the phone.

"Hey imán, es helado," Icy responded fluently.

"Hey, what's up?"

"Nothing much. Are you doing anything tonight?"

"No. What do you have in mind?"

"How about we have a party tonight? We need something to get our mind off of school and the other things that has happened."

"That's a good idea. How about you meet over here at about…7:30? I'll call everyone up. I'll see you later.

"Adiós."

Reaching for her wallet, Icy kept her eyes glued to her father's door as she checked the money that was in her wallet before leaving the apartment as fast as she could.

----------------

"All right, I didn't expect the party to be this big," Nikita commented as she and Icy walked up the front steps to Magnet's house. The watched as stoned teens were laughing on the lawn and were trying to walk. Some smoked as they sat on the small grassy hill and others were drinking beer. Icy led them past the other teenagers and into the house where music was pouring out of the windows.

"Neither did I," Icy responded as they walked into the kitchen. "Have you seen Squid or Ziggy? They said they'd be here."

"Hmm…" Nikita scanned the crowd and her eyes rested on a tall figure by the door. "I found Zigzag. I'll see you later," she responded as she shoved past people to get to him.

"Don't set anything on fire!" Icy called after her with a grin. It faded when someone bumped into her. "Watch where you're going!"

"Sorry, Icy," Magnet apologized. "I didn't know this many people would come."

"That's what happens when parties get started in high school," she said with a shrug. He smiled but it faded when he heard something crash and people go 'ooooh'. "You might want to check on that."

"I will. See you later."

Icy waved and went around to find Squid. She shoved stoned and/or drunk people out of her way. She spotted Caveman and Zero sitting on the couch with Armpit and Twitch as they played poker with some of the other teens around them.

"Hey, I didn't know you were going to be here," Eric said with a bright smile as he walked up to her.

"Yeah, it's strange seeing me at my friend's house," she said sarcastically as she rolled her eyes. "What're you doing here?"

"I tagged along with Ricky," he responded with a shrug. "I'm surprised you're here, with all of these…boys. You should be here with a man."

"Good idea….why don't you go find one?" Icy smirked as she flicked him in the forehead and walked off rolling her eyes. She jogged up the stairs and started towards the bathroom when she saw a familiar face. "Twitch!" She called over the music.

"Hey Icy," he called back with a smile on his face. "Thanks for bailing me out."

"What?" Icy yelled.

"I said thanks for bailing me out!"

"I can't hear you! Come with me!" Icy took his wrist and led him into an empty room. She closed the door behind them, muffling the sound before sitting down on the floor, resting her back against the bed that was there. "Now, what'd you say?"

"I said, thanks for bailing me out," he responded as he sat down next to her. "I really appreciate it."

"It's no problem. I didn't want to watch you slowly rot and die in there. It would ruin your face and no one would want to look at your once-handsome features."

"Y-you really think I'm handsome?" Twitch asked as his face turned red. Icy just shrugged. "Well, what would you do…if I said I think you're beautiful?"

Icy blushed and smiled as she tucked the blue strand of her hair behind her ear. Her eyes locked with his and before she knew it, she was leaning towards him until her lips pressed against his. Twitch placed his left hand on her cheek while the other rested on her waist. Icy brought up her arms and draped them around his neck as she pulled him closer, deepening the kiss. He sighed softly as he ran a hand through her dark hair as she trembled slightly. He hesitantly stuck out his tongue and licked her lower lip, asking for entrance. She shyly opened her mouth and accepted his tongue as she intertwined it with her own. He pulled away lightly as he panted slightly and rested his forehead on hers, his breath tickling her lips as he looked deep into her eyes as her face flushed.

"Twitch…" Icy started in a shaky voice.

"Shut up…" he murmured before kissing her again. Gripping her hips, he gently pushed her over until her back was resting on the floor and he was leaning over her. He moved his lips to her neck as he trailed kisses up and down it as Icy gripped his shoulders.

"Twitch…Twitch…" she moaned softly as she tried to catch her breath.

"Icy? What're you doing?"

Icy's eyes popped open as she shoved Twitch away as he quickly got to his feet and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. Squid stood in the doorway with his hand gripping the doorknob so hard his knuckles turned white. Icy guiltily looked at him and saw him in the maddest state he could get. He was breathing deeply through his nose to calm himself.

"Squid–" she started.

"I don't want to hear it!" He spat as he turned and left the room, slamming the door shut behind himself.


	10. Mistake Number 2

**A/N: Thought Key **

_/blah/_àGlare speaking telepathically

**/blah/**àShorty speaking telepathically

**-------------------------------- **

**Chapter Ten-Mistake # 2 **

"SpitFire, I can't believe it's you," Glare whispered as she pulled up a chair and sat down next to him. "What're you doing here?" he blinked and rubbed his eyes to make sure it was actually her. It was. Her hair got longer so it hung to her lower back and her held the same shine as before.

_'Didn't think I'd miss her this much.'_ Glare thought to himself. _'She's even more beautiful than I last saw her.'_

"Visitin'. Smirk got some extra money so we figured we should come back and try to find out where you were," she responded as she smiled and brushed her hair behind her ear. "I heard about what happened. I'm sorry. For you, Icy, and Shorty."

"Thanks," he said with a small smile as he took her hand. "I'm pretty sure I get out of here soon. How long are you staying?"

"Until the end of this week."

"That's enough time to reconnect."

"And by that you mean…?"

Glare just grinned as he pulled her down for a kiss. SpitFire smiled as she pulled away and gave him a hug.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you've been hanging out with Armpit and Magnet too long. Your pick up line was corny." Glare laughed along with her as she bent down and pulled something out of a paper bag. She handed him something wrapped and she stared at it in confusion. "Open it!" Rolling his eyes at her impatient personality, he pulled off the tape before pulling out a picture frame. He smiled when he saw the picture. It was of her, her twin Smirk, and the Montgomerys on their last day at CGL.

"Thanks SpitFire, I love it," Glare said as he kissed her cheek.

"I knew you would. Well, I promised Smirk I wouldn't stay too long. I'll come and check on you later." SpitFire waved before she left the room.

**_/Who was that? I couldn't tell by the voice./_ **

Glare noted that Shorty sounded a little bit better, considering that she was still in a lot of pain from the car that hit her.

_/That was SpitFire. She and Smirk are here to visit./ _

_**/Ohh, I wish I could talk to her./ **_

Before Glare could reply Squid barged into the room, making Glare jump. Glare noticed he had a look of pure fury on his face, but knew better than to ask what was wrong. He was going to find out anyway. Squid's face softened when he looked across the room and saw Shorty lying on the bed.

"Is she all right?" He asked in a hoarse voice.

"She's alive, if that's what you meant," Glare responded as he pushed a button and his bed elevated so he was sitting up and looking at Squid. "Something's bothering you…do you want to talk to Shorty?"

"How can I talk to her if she's…?" Squid let his voice trail off as he sat down in the chair that was still by Glare's bed.

"Like this," Glare responded as he placed his palm on Squid's forehead and closed his eyes.

_/Shorty? It's me again, Squid's here too. He wants to talk to you/_ Glare thought as he took a relaxing breath.

_**/Squid's here? How're you feeling? What's wrong?/**_ Shorty's voice floated into Squid's head.

_/It's about your sister/_ Squid thought back.

_**/What'd she do?/ **_

_/She cheated on me./ _

_**/That's not like Icy. She's crazy about you, she told me herself./ **_

_/She's crazy all right…crazy enough to cheat on me with Twitch. I caught them in Magnet's room./ _

_**/They weren't…?/ **_

_/No, they were just making out. But it still hurt me. I don't know why she does this to me? I mean, can't she see how much I care about her?/ _

_**/She's going through some rough times, Squiddy, and I'm guessing you aren't there for her. So she turned to someone close to her. Think of it this way, as long as it wasn't Ziggy, right?/ **_

_/What if she turns to him next?/ _

_**/…I don't know. When she comes to visit, I'll talk to her and try to sort this out./ **_

_/Don't bother. I don't want to talk to her ever again./ _

_**/…I'm sorry./ **_

Glare let go of Squid's forehead and opened his eyes before they narrowed. "Icy cheated on you!? That's hard to believe."

"Don't rub it in!" Squid spat before leaving the hospital room.

"It was great seeing you too," Glare grumbled as he crossed his arms over his chest. He sighed and shook his head. "Icy, what are you doing to yourself?"

--------------

"Icy! Wh-what're you doing here?" Nikita questioned once she opened the door to her house.

"I need to talk to you, Niki," she responded in monotone. "Can I come in?"

"Uh, well, uh," Nikita stammered. Icy shoved past her without waiting for an answer. "My mom's not home."

"Good, I didn't want to have a 'meet-my-parents thing going on. But this is important!"

"Laurie. Laurie," a little voice called out as footsteps reached Icy's ears. She turned and almost burst out laughing when she saw the little boy. His jet black hair fell into his eyes, but it was brushed to the side and partly covered his left eye. He had dark eyes that seemed filled with sadness. He wore a black wife beater and a beat up black jacket over dirty black cargos and black socks.

"Why's that shrimp calling you Laurie?" Icy questioned as the boy stood by Nikita's side.

"I'm not a shrimp and Lauren is her name," the boy responded. "She's my sister. And who're you?"

"I'm her friend, Icy. And you are?"

"This is Leon." Nikita turned to her younger brother. "Go run along and play. I have to talk to her about something."

"I'll go if you give me your My Chemical Romance cd."

Rolling her eyes Nikita pointed towards the stairs. Leon gave her The Raspberry before running back up the stairs. Motioning to Icy, Nikita walked into the living room where she plopped down lazily on the couch.

"Cute brother," Icy commented.

"Eh.." was all Nikita said with a wave of her hand. "Now what's up?"

"I cheated on Squid," Icy stated promptly.

"Ok, I may be a blood sucking vampire and have to bite peoples' necks now and then, but even _I_ don't cheat on Ziggy."

"You're not helping." Icy sighed as she leaned back into the couch. "I don't understand. I gave up myself for Squid, and then I go behind his back and cheat with one of my best friends."

"If it was Ziggy, I'll _kill_ you."

"Relax, it wasn't Ziggy."

"Ok." Nikita pondered as Icy stared at her. Nikita made a face and asked hesitantly, "It wasn't…your brother…was it?"

"Ew, no! That's just wrong on _so many_ levels!" Icy shook her head to get the image out of her head. "No, it wasn't him. _Or_ X-ray, Armpit, Magent, or Caveman either!"

"Well, it couldn't be Zero…what about Eric, Zigzag's brother? He has this huge crush on you and–"

"It was Twitch, you moron!" Icy couldn't help but scream at her. She then took a pillow and covered her face with it.

"Well, why'd you do that? I thought you were in love with Squid," Nikita questioned in confusion as she rolled down the sleeves to her black shirt. She had just pushed them up and was now pushing them up and rolling them down out of habit.

"I was! I mean I am!" Icy's muffled voice came out from underneath the pillow, but Nikita understood anyway. "I can't explain it. With Squid I feel safe and protected. But with Twitch I feel respected and cared for." Icy removed the pillow from her face and sat up to look at Nikita. "I don't know, every time I'm around Twitch things are…right." Icy realized what she just said and made a face. "God, I sound like such a _girl_!"

"At least you didn't go all the way with him," Nikita said with a shrug, trying to lighten up the mood. "You didn't…did you?"

"Corse not," Icy said with a shake of her head. "I just kissed him…which turned into a make out session.":

"Damn girl, what's the matter with you?" Nikita asked as she hit Icy across the face with a pillow. "You gotta fix this. I'll talk to Ziggy, ok?"

"Whatever."

------------------

"Squiddy, calm down," Zigzag said as he watched his friends pace his bedroom. After Squid left the hospital he went straight to Zigzag's house. Zigzag noticed that Squid was pissed off, even more than usual, and he was back to his old habit of chewing on toothpicks.

"I can't calm down, Ziggy," Squid responded as he dropped into his reclinable, rolling chair. "Would you be able to if Nikita was cheating on you?"

"No, I'd talk to her about it and try to make things work."

Squid stared at him hard. "Are you insane?"

"I prefer the word crazy."

The answer was so honest Squid couldn't help but laugh. Zigzag beamed, knowing that he made his friend laugh even when he was feeling down. Zigzag closed the door and locked it as his laughter subsided.

"Squid, how's everything at your place?" He asked hesitantly.

"Everything's fine," he responded. "My mom's getting better and Duke buys her gifts and things for no reason. Things are pretty calm there, actually."

"You're lying to me," Zigzag stated as he narrowed his eyes. "Hand me the phone," he said suddenly, changing the subject.

"Why?" Squid asked as he grabbed it and tossed it over.

"Because you need help and I know where to get it."

---------

"Why'm I here?" Squid growled as he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back in his chair.

"Because there are things in D-Tent that are going on and I need to know about it, being the leader," X-Ray responded as he shot Squid a glare. "Let's start with you, then. Zigzag tells me that there's something going on at your place."

"Nothing's going on at my place! My place is fine! Ally and I are fine!" Squid spat.

"Where'd you get that bruise?" Magnet questioned as he nodded at Squid's neck.

"I got hit by a tree branch. That's all."

"A tree branch in the shape of fingers? That's hard to believe," Icy commented as she walked into the living room. All of their mouthes fell open, except for Squid's, his jaw was set and a frown was cared into his face.

Icy's hair, which was usually kept back in a ponytail, was let down, the single cerulean blue streak resting on the right side of her chin. She was wearing a black tank top underneath a partially zipped black jacket. She was also wearing baggy black jeans and black converses.

"What happened to you?" Armpit questioned, spiting out the cookie crumbs that were in his mouth.

"She's been hanging out Nikita too long," Icy heard Caveman whisper to Zero who nodded in agreement.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that. Why did you call me over here, X? I need to go visit Glare and Shorty," Icy said as she sat down in the only available chair that was sitting in the living room.

"We're having a well needed D-Tent meeting, Ice," X-Ray responded calmly.

Icy scoffed. "Are we back at CGL with Dr. Crack-head? We don't need this meeting!"

"We were just discussing how Squid got that bruise on his neck." X-Ray continued as he gave Icy a warning glare.

"Duke abuses him. It's not that hard to figure out," Icy responded casually as Squid shot her a death glare.

"And you haven't told anyone?" Armpit questioned.

"I can handle it," Squid said after a moments silence. "He doesn't hurt me as much as he hurts Ally." He paused and added. "And _none_ of you is telling the police! I don't want Ally to have a reason to hate me because we have to leave this city! Aiight?"

"Ok. But if one thing goes wrong I'm calling the police!" X-Ray warned him. "Caveman? Zero? Anything with you?"

"Nothing really. Except our moms are planning on going all out for the dance that's coming up," Caveman responded with a shake of his head. "If you had our mother's, you'd be afraid to go to the dance in the first place."

"I believe you on that," Magnet said with a laugh. "I have it worse. My mom is setting me up on dates with these girls I knew from Mexico. I don't want to go out with them, but my mom won't listen to me. Every time I've been set up for a date I've faked being sick and went to the movies instead while the girl went back home."

"Isn't that kind of mean?" Zero questioned as he wrinkled his nose.

"No, because I take them to the mall later so they could learn more about the United States culture or whatever. That's all they really wanted in the first place. They didn't want to be on the dates either. I knew them all anyway."

"Armpit?" X-Ray questioned as he turned towards the black boy sitting next to him.

"My mom's threatening to send me to St. Bart's if I don't go on this diet she's making me take," he responded.

"It aint working," Magnet said before he and Squid laughed and bumped fists.

"Man–" Armpit started as he stood up and moved threateningly towards them. They backed away in fear before X-Ray stopped Armpit and made him sit back down.

"Calm down, man. Zigzag, what's going on with you?"

"Well, my mom and dad think my sister Samantha and I are crazy, me especially. You say the walls are talking to you and they go nuts. They want to take me to a psych ward, but I know that's where Dr, Pendanski, Mr. Sir, and the Warden are positioned. If I get sent there she'll make me leak info about you guys to her." Zigzag shook his head as everyone looked at him. "Not going to happen." He smiled brightly as he twiddled his thumbs, as if he thought of a good solution.

"All right, Twitch? Anything new?"

"N-no," he responded as he started to Twitch slightly as all eyes rested on him. "N-nothing n-new has been h-happening in my life. I-I'm just glad to b-be out of j-jail and–"

"And stealing my girlfriend!" Squid spat as he stood, so fast, his chair fell backwards. "_Ex-_girlfriend!" He corrected himself.

"I-I'm not st-stealing your–" Twitch tried to say as his face turned red in embarrassment.

"_Don't lie to me!_ I saw you and Icy in Magnet's room!"

"Damn! You two did?" Magnet questioned as he turned to Icy who had a bored expression on her face. "In my room? Was he better compared to Squid or what? Give me the info, chica!"

"Shut up, Magnet!" Squid yelled as he kept his eyes on Twitch's trembling form. "You've been jealous of me ever since you first came to camp. I could tell just by looking at you."

"Have you ever thought that this whole thing had something to do with you?" Icy asked calmly as she rolled her head until she was looking at him. "I mean, everytime s couple breaks up it's the guy's fault."

"_You're_ the one who cheated on me, remember?" Squid hissed.

"I don't know why I'm wasting my time explaining this to you," Icy said as she stood and faced him. "But, _Twitch_ was the one who was coming onto me. Sure, at first I liked it. But I was trying to get him to stop when you came in." She turned around to look at Twitch who had a sad look on his face. "I'm sorry Twitch, but that's the truth. You're just my best friend, nothing more." She turned bacl to talk to Squid. "You never trust me, even if I know what I'm doing. I love feeling safe and protected, you can provide that for me, but I absolutely _hate it_ when you're overprotective."

Icy gave him one last hard look before leaving the house. She walked down the porch and on the sidewalk. She kept her head low as she kicked a rock, ignoring where she was going. She walked in crosswalks, even if cars were coming her way, she didn't care. Sighing heavily, she placed her hands in her pockets as she walked into the run down part of town.

"Hey babe, glad to see you're back."

Icy's eyes widened as she whirled around.

"Crimson?"


	11. Mistake Number 3: And He’s Out!

**Chapter Eleven–Mistake # 3: And He's Out! **

"Y-you should be in jail," Icy said as she backed a couple of steps away from him.

"Eh, what can you do when you're bored there? Break out and check to see how my girl's doing," he responded with a shrug as he tossed a cigarette onto the street. "How've you been?"

"Don't give me that shit!" She spat as she glared at him. "You've made my life a living hell since you followed me to CGL. And now that I'm out you have to follow me here?"

"Look," Crimson said with a sigh. "I was kidding about the breaking out thing. Turns out I was released because I wasn't seen as a threat."

"Oh _that's_ very believable."

"I fell out of a four story window. Hit my head and lost some of my memory. I won't ever get it back. But what dawned on me was how mistreated you were. And I'm sorry about that. I just want to make it up to you somehow. I know I did something wrong to you, I just don't know what, but this feeling of guilt won't go away. I know that I have to make something up to you to make it go away. Then I can go and live with my mom and be the son she wanted me to be."

Icy stood a good few feet away from him as she stared at him suspiciously. He had a look of pure regret in his eyes, but she knew not to fall for it. She's done that way too many times to fall for it once more.

"Just stay away from me!" She spat before she started to walk off.

"Do you have a place to stay?"

"Stay the hell away from me!"

Icy started to run down the street. Running always helped clear her head so she could think better. And she really needed to think. Her breaths came out in a steady rhythm as her shoes slapped against the slightly damp ground. She looked up and flinched as a rain drop hit her face. She stood staring up at the sky as the rain fell down harder, soaking her to the skin in seconds. She punched the wall of the house that was close to her and held her head in her free hand.

_'What have I done? I always blamed someone else for ruining my life…but I did it myself. Just like I hurt both Squid and Twitch. I guess I have to find out which one I like better. Someone give me a sign of who to choose.'_

"Icy?"

Icy turned as she brushed her wet hair out of her face with her sleeve. "Squid? What're you doing here?"

"I thought about what you said," he responded as he walked up to her. "I realized that you were right. It was my fault you…moved on. I drove you away by being too protective of you. It's just…I didn't love anyone as much as I loved you and…call me selfish, but I didn't want anyone else to have you. You're special to me, but…if there's someone else that likes you as much as I did…do…then you should be with him." He looked at her as he pulled off his doorag and squeezed it so water fell out.

"What?" Icy asked in disbelief.

"Basically what I'm saying is…" he placed his hands on Icy's shoulders and shook her as if he were shaking sense back into her. "Go. And. Be. With. Twitch."

"But…but…" Icy started.

"But what?"

"But what if I hurt him again? I always do that, hurt the only people that care about me."

"You won't do it this time. I can tell."

Squid half smiled half smirked at her as she smiled a little. She stepped forward and hugged him as he hugged her back. He rested his chin on her head as she clung to him. They ignored the rain that fell around them

"Are you sure about this?" Icy questioned.

"Mhm," Squid responded with a nod. "You can do it."

Icy smiled before backing out of his grip. "Hey Squid?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks." She turned and ran off in the rain, letting the darkness engulf her. Squid stood there for a couple of seconds watching her run before going back to the car he parked a couple of feet away. "We can go now."

"Did you do the right thing?" Zigzag questioned as he put the car on drive.

"I hope so," Squid responded.

-----------------

"C'mon, c'mon," Icy muttered as she knocked on the door to a house. She pushed back her hair as she looked around at the neighborhood behind herself.

"Icy?" Twitch questioned once he opened the door. A pang of guilt hit Icy like a ton of bricks. His eyes were slightly puffy as if he had been crying. "What're you doing here?"

"I came to apologize," she responded as she squeeze the end of her hair. "Can I come in at least? I don't want to get hypothermia or something."

"Yeah," he mumbled as he backed away and let her inside. She slid off her socks and shoes and rolled up her pants legs and sleeves so she wouldn't drip that much. "You're not staying long." It was more of a statement than a question.

"Twitch, just let me explain–"

"You don't need to explain anything!" He spat as he turned to face her, eyes blazing. "You used me, Icy! Didn't you know how much that would hurt me? Didn't you think? Didn't you care?" In frustration he gripped his hair. "I guess not because you went and broke my heart! I didn't think I liked you before, but when you came and visited me while I was in jail, I thought you did. When you kissed me at Magnet's house, I felt lucky! But then you had to go and…do this!"

"Wait Twitch–" Icy started.

"I hate you," Twitch said barely above a whisper, tears brimming on his eyes. He then turned around and stomped up the stairs. "Don't let the door hit you on the way out!"

Icy watched him walk up the stairs and winced once she heard the door slam shut. Icy growled in frustration as she hit her head on the wall._ 'What would Shorty say if she were here? She'd say something like, _'If you want something badly, don't sit around and wait for it to come to you. You have to go get it yourself'_ Well, I hope your advice works this time, Shorty.' _

Icy climbed the stairs and found Twitch's room, seeing as it was the only door that was closed. "Twitch, open up!" She called as she knocked on the door.

"I said go away!" he called back.

"Please! You have to let me explain!"

"You don't need to explain anything!"

"Yes I do!" Icy cried. "I…I never meant to hurt you! I was trying to figure out who was right for me! I even talked to Nikita about this! She helped me figure out who was right for me!" She sighed as she listened. There was no noise so she kept talking. "I realized that I actually need someone to make me feel respected. Squid didn't do that! _You_ did! You made me feel special, and I realized that at the last minute! Please, Twitch. I'm really _really_ sorry! You're…you're he one for me! Not Squid! Not anyone else! You!"

She still didn't hear anything coming from the room so she sighed heavily and felt tears come to her eyes. She blinked back the tears as she turned and went back down the stairs. An empty feeling filled her as she turned the knob and started to pull open the door. A hand was placed on it before it closed. Icy turned around and caught a glimpse of Twitch before she was pressed into the door and he was kissing her.

"Does that mean you forgive me?" Icy asked after he pulled away. He just laughed and kissed her again.

------------------

"I'M FREE!" Shorty cheered as she ran out of the hospital two days later. She stopped at the end of the sidewalk and started dancing in happiness as Glare walked out behind her laughing.

"Don't use up all of your energy all ready," Glare warned her as she started to perform the trick the bronco. "We still have to see everyone else."

"This will be so great! I can't wait to hang out with Ally and Maggie again! I missed them a lot."

"What, you didn't miss your sister?" Icy questioned with a smile. The looks on Glare's and Shorty's face brightened as Icy ran towards them. She ran into Glare's arms and gave him a big hug as Shorty skipped around them. Once Glare pulled away Shorty kicked Icy in the leg. "What in the world was that for?"

"For cheating on Squid!" She responded as she placed her hands on her hips. "How could you do that to him?"

"Shorty–" Icy tried to talk.

"Don't interrupt me!" Shorty said as she held up her hand. "After all it took for you two to get together–"

"Shorty!" Icy screamed as she shook her by her shoulders. "Squid's fine with it. Actually, he was the one who told me I should be with Twitch."

"Squid said that?" Glare questioned.

"Yes."

"Squid from D-Tent?"

"Yes."

"You mean that air-headed toothpick chewing, fight starting Squid?"

"Yes, that Squid!"

Shorty and Glare laughed as they walked down the street. Icy told Shorty and Glare everything that had happened while they were stuck in the hospital. Glare told Icy about how they were signed up as the band to play at the Homecoming dance that was going to be held in a couple of weeks. He also told her that Smirk and SpitFire were there to visit and would leave the next day. Icy then told them about how Crimson claimed that he had changed.

"I highly doubt that," Glare said as he rolled his eyes and started to unlock the door to their house. Before he stuck the key in the door swung open and he was yanked inside by his collar. He landed hard on his elbows and knees.

"Glare, are you all right?" Icy asked as she and Shorty dropped down to his side.

"Yeah," he responded as he pushed himself up to his knees. "But what did that?"

"I did," Malcolm responded as he walked into the foyer. Icy and Shorty tensed up on either side of Glare. "Where have you two been this whole time?"

"We were in the hospital because of you!" Shorty snapped as she backed away a little. "You almost killed us!"

"Aww," Malcolm said in fake sympathy. "It's too bad you're not dead! Then I don't have to worry about looking at you!" He walked past them to the door and closed and locked it before looking back at them. He glared at them before striking Icy in the face.

"God _dammit!_" She cried out as she clutched her nose in pain. Glare got to his feet and tried to knock Malcolm over, but he easily dodged it and hit Glare in the back of the head with his elbow. Shorty tried to run to him but he grabbed her and slung her over his shoulder.

"Hey! Put me down now!" Shorty cried as she thrashed on his shoulder. Malcolm grabbed Icy and Glare by the collars of their shirts and started to shove them up the stairs. He shoved them into Icy's bedroom and into the closet.

"Hey!" was all Glare could get out before he slammed the door shut and locked it. He grinned at the sounds of their fits pounding on the door.

"Sit down, kid!" Malcolm snapped as she tossed Shorty, not caring where she landed. When he saw that she had hit the floor he picked her up and placed her on his lap. "Remeber that game we used to play?" He asked as he held her tighter and started to run his hand up her small arm.

"No!" Shorty cried out. "You can't do this to me! I'm your daughter!"

Malcolm just laughed evilly. "No daughter of mine would treat me this way."

"NO! STOP IT!"

"That bastard!" Icy spat as she pounded her fist on the locked closet door. "I wish we could get out of here."

"Icy, forget it, we can't get out," Glare said with a sigh. "Unless.."

"You have an idea?" Icy asked in surprise.

"Yeah. You had our way of escape this whole time," Glare said as he blindly reached for Icy's belt.

"Glare."

"What?"

"Your hand's not anywhere _near_ my pants pocket."

"Sorry."

"Hold on…ok, I got my cell phone. Crap, the batteries are almost dead!"

"Quick, give me the phone."

Icy watched as the buttons on her cell phone lit up when Glare rapidly pushed some. He stared at the screen. When the call went through the first thing he heard was, "_Hello?"_

"Zigzag! It's Glarre. I can't talk that long. But it's important for you to come over to our place and bring the police with you."

"_What? Why? What's going on?"_

"JUST DO IT, PLEASE!"

Right as Glare was about to say something else the door opened, the phone was pulled out of his hand, and thrown across the room where it broke once it hit the wall.

"You little bastards think you can get away with calling the cops on me?": Malcolm demanded as he dragged them out by their hair, ignoring their screams of pain. He dragged them into the middle of the room and threw Shorty down on top of them before he started to kick and punch them. Their screams fell on deaf ears as a smile came to his face. It faded once he heard police sirens in the distance. "Well, it's time to say goodbye," he said as he pulled out a lighter and flicked it so a flame came up. "I just wish you didn't have to treat me this way and–"

"Shut _up!_" Icy growled as she rammed him with her shoulder. He stumbled backwards and fell into the closet. Icy locked the door and stuck the chair in the way.

"Icy!" Shorty gasped. Icy turned and her eyes widened as flames started to spread around the room. Icy tried to open the door but found it locked. "How will we get out?"

"Don't worry, I'll thin of something," Glare told her, trying to hide the fear in his voice.

"We can't get out," Icy muttered.

"What?" Shorty and Glare asked in unison.

"We can't get out! We can't get out!" She repeated. "It's revenge! The flames are supposed to kill me!"

"Don't talk like that!" Shorty cried as she slapped Icy's cheek. "Ziggy will get us out! I know he will!" She coughed as smoke started to fill the room. Grabbing the blanket on the bed, they held it over their mouths and noses as they backed away from the flames and into the corner where they cowered in fear.

----------------------------------

**-Nikita's POV-**

"Laurie, when's mom going to be home?" Leon questioned as he washed dishes that were in the sink.

"Soon," I responded without looking at him. It was hard to hide the fact that our mom was never going to come back from him.

"Where'd she go?'

"She's looking for a job." _'At least I can tell him that. That's the truth.' _

"Laurie," he said with a sigh as I turned to look at him. "I think I'm old enough for you to tell me the truth. Now what's going on with mom?"

"Ok," I said with a sigh as I put down the towel I was drying the dishes with. "Mom is out looking for a job, like I said. But, she hasn't called us in a long time. I've been faking it for a while so you wouldn't be scared."

"Why would I be scared? I have you here to take care of me."

"But, you can't tell anyone we're living alone or we'll be split up. Ok?"

Leon suddenly stopped washing and stood stiff. His eyes were narrowed; I knew that look well. He has better hearing than most people so this meant he was hearing something that was happening far away. "Fire."

"What?" I questioned.

"Fire," he repeated. "There's a fire somewhere."

"Where?" I demanded as I turned to face him. I grabbed him by his shoulders and shook him. "Out with it, man!"

"Somewhere near…I just can't tell where." He paused and looked past her. "The phone's going to ring."

I reached back and picked up the phone right as the first note on the ring. "What?"

"Get over to the Montgomery place, now!"

"Woah, Ziggy. What's wrong?"

"Fire. Montgomery place!"

"WHAT!?"

I slammed the phone down on the receiver and turned to say something to Leon to find him gone.

"Out the door!" He called from the porch. "We have friends to save!"

Leon and I ran all the way to the Montgomery place. We had to shove past Police Officers to get their way to the front. I spotted X-Ray , Zigzag, and Magnet standing behind tape looking worrid.

"What happened?' I asked out of breath as I rushed over to them.

"I got a call from Glare saying to get over to their place with the police," Zigzag explained. "As I came here firefighters passed us so I knew that the fire was there."

"Where are they?" I asked as I scanned the house.

"It's hard to tell from here," Magnet responded.

"All right, Leon, let's go," I said to him. He nodded before we charged into the house.

"Nikita! No!" Zigzag called. I ignored it as he burst into the house and looked around. I covered my nose as smoke entered it.

"Bedroom, second floor," Leon told me, his golden eyes flashing. He ran up the stairs and I followed close behind. I listened closely and heard faint screams coming from one room.

"In there. Leon, can you take care of the door?" I asked him.

"Of course," he responded as he stepped towards it. He held up his hand and stared at it. His eyes narrowed as he concentrated. He closed his hand and the door bent. He sent a kick at it and it fell over. "Do your stuff."

I nodded as I closed my eyes. I could feel the wings in my back slide out and open fully. I flapped my wings to clear the smoke and push the flames back as Leon darted inside. He came back out a couple of seconds later, with Glare leaning against him for support. He went back in and came out one more time with Icy leaning against him and Shorty in his arms.

"Is that it?" I questioned as I turned my head, letting my wings continue to flap.

"Yeah," Leon responded. "But we need to get the little one outside. I think she inhaled some smoke."

"All right, let's go."

I stopped beating my wings and let the slide back into my back as I followed my little brother downstairs. I accidentally tripped and crashed into them which caused them. We all went tumbling down the stairs and fell int a heap at the bottom. I heard a strange wooshing sound and looked back to see the fire following us down. We scrambled to out feet and dove out the door into the cool air. Glare, Icy, and Shorty were immediately taken to be checked on. They wanted to take a look at Leon and I, but found nothing wrong with us.

"Nikita, are you nuts? You could've gotten hurt!" Zigzag exclaimed as he pulled me into a tight hug.

"Thanks for being worried, babe, but I'm fine," I said once he let me go. "I'm a vampire, remember? I can't get hurt that easily."

"Ture," Zigzag said with a nod. And then he began to smile. "How were the flames?"

"They were AWESOME! They were the coolest shade of orange and red, it was as if they were alive!"

"COOL!" Zigzag exclaimed. "I wish I could've seen them."

I grinned as I gave him a quick hug and walked over to Leon, who was checking on Shorty.

"You ok?" He asked her.

"Yeah. I just inhaled a little smoke," she responded. "I'm fine." She then looked up at the house that was being watered down. "We're finally free," she muttered.

"We don't have to worry about him anymore," Icy added as she also looked up at the house.

* * *

**A/N: Also, there is an M rated version of the ending scene of Chapter 9. If you want to read it just send me a PM. The scene was changed completely when I posted it so it still fit the T rating.**


	12. As If Things Couldn’t Get Any Worse!

**Chapter Twelve-As If Things Couldn't Get Any Worse! **

"Oh man, this has been such a long week," Magnet commented as he rubbed his tired eyes. "I can't believe we had to deal with all of this in our first couple of weeks of High School."

"This is what we get once we get released from Camp Hell Hole," X-Ray responded as he closed his locker door. "Get used to it, Magnet. High School is filled with drama."

"I can't even get used to the fact that the food here is better than the food at Camp Hell Hole…and it's basically the same thing they served us there!"

X-Ray laughed as he and Magnet started to walk down the hall. They winked at some girls they passed, but got flipped off as the girls rolled their eyes. They heard people laughing at them so they turned to see Miles, a tough senior, leaning against a locker snickering at them.

"What's so funny, pizza face?" X-Ray questioned as he glared over at Miles.

"You. Watching you act all cool to a girl. Trying to get a date for the dance?"

"I don't need to try," X-Ray responded as he grinned evilly. "I all ready have you. Except for you, who needs to bring their mother to the dance."

He and Magnet walked away laughing as Miles shook in anger.

Miles Baker was a senior that was exiled since day once of his freshman year. He took it for three years, and he wasn't going to take it another year. All these emotions bottled up inside of him until it leaked out like a soda filled with Mentos. He kept the emotions inside for too long and now he was finally going to let it out with a good size of revenge to go along with it.

Miles was mad.

Scratch that.

Miles was _pissed_.

Ever since he arrived at the school in freshman year he was labeled as a loser, a geek, a nobody.

Everyone treated him badly because he was different than the rest of them.

And it was only because he talked with a slight stutter and because he had asthma and had to use his inhaler every time he tried to play soccer after school.

Well, he wouldn't be looked over ever again. He would teach them all a lesson.

The Jocks.

The Goths.

The Emos.

The Brainiacs.

The Preps

_All of them. _

Ever since he first arrived there they made him their target.

He got swirlied and beat up the jocks on a regular basis. He was shunned by the Goths and the Emos because he was too…alive. The braniacs made him feel stupid by asking him equations and other math problems. And the preps just made him feel like lower than dirt for way to long.

They all made him feel lower than dirt for way too long.

And that was going to end now.

"They're all going to pay," Miles muttered to himself as he lowered the hem of his sweatshirt and casually placed his hands in the front pocket as he walked off.

-----------

"God dammit, I hate this school!" Nikita cried as she dropped her tray down at a table.

"Why?" Icy questioned as she sat down across from her. Icy still dressed gothic like Nikita did, but not as much as her. She still had a splash of blue to her clothes. "Not _black_ enough for you?"

"Ha ha ha. No, I just hate all of these loser guys who think they can hit on me without being _hit_!" Nikita and Icy laughed as they high fived each other. "Don't they know that I'm dating Ziggy?"

"Guys don't care. They go for someone who's all ready taken," Icy responded as she took a sip of milk.

"So what happened between the Squicyitch love triangle?"

"Squicyitch? What the hell?"

"It's a combination of all of your names. Squid. Icy. Twitch. What happened?"

"Let me see…I went over to a D-Tent meeting, yelled at Squid, yelled at Twitch, and left. Ran through the rain, reunited with this…boy I met a while ago, got rained on, met up with Squid again, we talked and he told me to choose Twitch, went over to Twitch's place, apologized, and made out with him. Does that summarize it enough?" Icy asked all in one breath. Nikita just stared at hre as she watched Icy catch her breath.

"Wow," was all Nikita said as she blinked. "So, you're dating Twitch now?"

"Yeah, I guess. He's really sweet and all, but I feel as if there's something missing, y'know?"

"You're just having doubts. I'm sure if Squid told you to go with Twitch, then there's a good reason. So, are you going to the Homecoming with him?"

"I'm going to the Homecoming, just not with him. Glare, Shorty, and I are going to play a couple of sets there." Icy paused before adding, "and you better come or I'll be forced to pinkitize you the next school day!"

"Pinkitize?" Nikita asked with a raised eyebrow. "You have been around me way too long. I rubbed off on you. I'm am so proud!"

Icy laughed as she shook her head. "Hey, I've been meaning to thank you and your brother by saving my siblings and I from the fire. You could've killed yourselves but you went ahead and did it anyway."

"No problem. I know you would've done the same to me," Nikita said with a wave of her hand.

"Also…thanks for leaving my dad behind so he could go. He was a bad man with a messed up mind. You finally put him to rest."

"Once again: no problem. I had to deal with a dad like that for a short time. He died in a car accident because he was on a drug, but at least he didn't hurt my mother or Leon."

Icy nodded in understanding as they began to eat. They talked about random things like the teachers they had at their school and how they disciplined differently. They were in the middle of talking about which teachers gave out the most homework when there was a loud crash. They turned their heads around and saw a circle of people standing near the back of the cafeteria. Giving Nikita a look, Icy stood and started to make her way to the back of the cafeteria. She pushed past people and saw that Miles and another senior were in a fight.

"Hey! Stop it! Stop, right now!" Icy shouted as she pushed her way into the fight. The other senior, Daniel, looked down at her as he gave Miles on hard shove. He landed on his back and curled into a ball as he held his hand up to his bleeding nose.

"And what're you going to do to stop me, shrimp?" He asked as he shoved her lightly. She took a step back, but continued to glare at him. He shoved her again but he slapped his arm away as a scowl came to her face.

"Leave Miles alone, he didn't do anything to you," she growled as she brought back her foot and kicked him hard I the shin at the same time she punched him hard in the stomach. He doubled over as she dropped down to Miles's side. "Are you all right?" She asked as he sat up and blinked a couple of times. "Go on, get out of here!" She yelled at the crowd. They didn't budge. "MOVE YER ASSES!" They all scurried to get back to their tables as Icy helped him sit up. Nikita came over with an ice pack in her hand…well, her sleeve. She once said that if she came in contact with ice her vampire powers would go away.

"Thank you," Miles muttered as he held the icepack to his nose. "But you didn't have to help me. I would've been able to deal with it on my own."

"I know, but I don't stand by to let someone get hurt," Icy told him as she patted his shoulder. "I've always been like that."

"Thanks anyway," he said as he stood. "I don't understand why the all hate me. I haven't done anything to them. They think they're all so damn _perfect_!"

"Let me tell you, Miles," Nikita said to him as he got to his feet. "All of those people are insecure, and take their insecurities out on people who don't look insecure. That's it. There's no reason for you to feel hated. All right dude?"

"All right," he muttered as he wiped the rest of the blood off of his upper lip.

Icy and Nikita walked out of the cafeteria, ignoring the looks that were being thrown their way, along with the coughs of 'emos', 'lesbos' and 'losers' that reached their ears. Nikita just stopped at a table and climbed on top. She stomped on it with her heavy shoes which got everyone quiet.

"You all laugh at us and make fun of us because we're different," she started once she got everyone's attention. "But I laugh and make fun of all of you because you're exactly the same!" She then jumped off the table and started to walk out of the cafeteria, Icy following close behind.

"That was amazing," Icy said proudly.

"Life's short, bend the rules."

They laughed as they walked down the hall to their lockers. They passed by junior boys who made cat calls, whistled, and tried cheesy pick up lines on them. Icy got so frustrated she kicked a guy in the balls with her heavy shoes. ("He's not going to have babies for a while," Nikita commented with a satisfied smile.) Once they reached their lockers they started to get out their things when they heard pounding footsteps.

"What's that noise?" Icy questioned as she had one hand in her locker and another handing by her side.

"It's the sound of our Geometry teacher getting attacked by his revolting students," Nikita responded deadpan. "And we're not there to help! Come on, let's move!"

"Hey guys," Twitch said softly as he walked up to them. He was smiling shyly and his hands were shoved in his pockets as he rocked on his feet.

"Hey Twitchy," Nikita said with a fang-filled smile. He blinked once and laughed nervously as Nikita closed her locker. "I'm going to class. I'll meet you there."

"Kay, see you," Icy said with a wave as she pulled her arm out of her locker. "Hey, how's it going?" She asked as she gave him a light kiss and smiled.

"It's going good," he responded as he scratched the top of his head. "So, I just wanted to know, are we going to the Homecoming dance together or what?"

"We're going, just not together," Icy responded. "My siblings and I got a gig so we'll be playing some of the music there. But in my free time expect a dance from me."

"But it won't be the same," he said as his smile got a little bit bigger as she stepped forward and pulled her into a hug. "I had everything planned out. I'd come by your place with a limo and some roses. Then I'd take you to the most expensive place in town, and then we'd go to the dance so I could show you off." He leaned forward and kissed her cheek before letting her go.

"Even if I could do that, I wouldn't," Icy said as she crossed her arms over her chest. "You know how I feel about being all dressed up in a dress. Let alone wearing one for one night for no reason at all."

"You wouldn't even do it for me?"

"Twitch, you're cute, but I wouldn't even do it for your cute face," she said with a smirk as she tapped his nose. "Now I have to go before I get late for my Geometry class."

"Ok. I'll meet you here after school," he said as he gave her one more hug and then went down the hall.

She rolled her eyes and chuckled as she opened her locker once more. She started to get her books when she stopped and looked around.

The other handful of people in the hall were quiet as they got their things and rushed to their class.

It was quiet.

Too quiet.

The air seemed to be filled with electricity as she closed her locker and started down the hall.

That's when she heard it.

The scream.

And what followed shortly after it.

A gunshot…


	13. Lockdown

**Chapter Thirteen-Lockdown **

"How're you so happy?" Zigzag questioned as he and Squid walked into the school one morning. He noticed that his friend had a smile on his face and it was starting to scare him. He's never seen Squid that happy, unless he was with Icy. But seeing as she was going with Twitch now, he didn't understand the source of Squid's happiness.

"It's Ally," he responded as he stopped at his locker. He dropped his backpack and bent down to put his books inside. "Despite what we're going through, she's found time to do the one thing she loves: dancing. She's so great at it, you should see her. Her dance moves are so fluid it's like water is moving through her." He paused and added, "Once I turn eighteen I'm going to get my own place and come get Ally so she can live with me and we can finally be at peace."

"I've been thinking about that," Zigzag said as he opened his own locker. "Why don't you just go and tell the police?"

"Because Ally would be taken away from me and I might not see her again. I thought we've been over this."

"But Squid–"

"Ziggy, I know what I'm doing. So, get out of my business all ready and let me live my life."

"Judging by your home, you don't have much of a life left!"

Zigzag and Squid glared at each other before stomping off in opposite directions. Never, in their friendship history, have they let something like family come between them.

They're like family to each other, but now…

Things sure have changed.

Squid opened his locker door and started to get out his things when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned and smiled when he saw that it was Sharon and Julian Evans.

"Hi Alan," Sharon said with a smile. "Did you enjoy the party that we threw?"

"Yeah, it was a lot of fun," he responded honestly. "But wouldn't your parents be mad that a lot of things got broken."

"We can always replace it before they get back," Julian said with a shrug.

"So Alan, we're going to start running practices after school starting at 3:30. Don't be late."

"I promise I won't Shar."

"Can't wait. Toodles."

She motioned for Julian to follow her as she began walking down the hall. He nodded respectfully at Squid who nodded back. He watched as the Evans twins walked down the hallway and disappeared from site.

"Thank goodness basketball ended or else I'd have no way of balancing both basketball AND drama," Squid said as he sighed and closed his locker as he and Zigzag made their way to their homeroom class.

"I still can't believe you're going to be in that play, but you have a great voice. Don't blow it or Sharon will kill you," Zigzag advised him as they walked into the classroom.

"The school year isn't over yet, Mr. Kasch," Mrs. Douglass said as she eyed him suspiciously.

"With all due respect, Mrs. Douglass, my school year wouldn't be as interesting if you weren't our homeroom teacher," he said as he took his seat.

"With all due respect, Mr. Kasch, sucking up to me isn't going to make me change my mind about giving you a detention that you will deserve later."

The class laughed as they all filtered in. Jennifer smiled warmly at Squid and waved to her friends Taylor and Sharon. They waved back before they went back to their conversations. Sharon was talking to Julian about working at their Country Club over the summer while Taylor was talking to some people on the decathlon team.

"Mrs. Douglass, may I be excused?" Miles questioned as he raised his hand into the air. He looked a little bit pale and his knees were shaking underneath his desk. Inside him is stomach was churning as he got a lack of breath from nervousness.

"Hurry up, Miles," she said with a wave of her hand. He thanked her as he stood and rushed out of the room.

"What's wrong with him? He looks sick," Squid asked Zigzag.

"I don't know, maybe he got sick at the party last night," Zigzag responded with a shrug. "I mean, he and Clayton were having a shot contest."

"But Clayton looks fine," Squid pointed out as they looked over at Clayton.

"Maybe he caught the flu; I heard that's going throughout the school."

Squid shrugged and looked towards the front of the room. His cell phone vibrated as his eyes widened. Mrs. Douglass has a strict no cell phone policy. If he got caught with it on again, he'll get another detention. He dared anyway and slowly pulled it out of his backpack. He held it up to his face and saw that he got a Text Message.

**Jennifer: Meet me at my lckr after?**

Squid looked back and smiled at her. She smiled back and nodded towards his phone.

**Alan: Sure, I need 2 ask U something ne way. **

**Jennifer: Can't w8 **

Squid stared at the clock as Mrs. Douglass droned on and on about something. Time seemed to slow down for him as he continued to stare at the clock. When it felt like his head was going to explode, Mrs. Douglass dismissed them. He jumped up and rushed over to his locker. He put his backpack in and leaned against it, playing cool.

"Hey, so what'd you want to ask me?" Jennifer asked with a smile as she put her hands in her pockets and rocked on her feet.

"Are you doing anything tonight?" Squid asked as he ran a hand through his hair.

"I don't think so," she responded as she smiled up at him.

"Great. I had this idea that…" Squid's voice faded away as he looked over her head. His eyes widened as his breath got caught in his throat. The bell rang and students started to come out into the hall. "Jennifer," he said in a whisper.

"What?" Jennifer questioned. "Alan, what's wrong?"

"Jennifer." Squid repeated. "Run!"

"What?"

"RUN!"

Right as he shouted that, a gunshot drowned out his voice as screams filled the air and students started to push them around.

"JENNIFER, RUN!"

----------------------------------

**"**God, where is she?" Nikita asked herself as she sat in her seat in Geometry class. She looked at her watch before getting out of her seat.

"Where are you going?" A girl with curly red hair, Alyssa, questioned as she watched Nikita leave the classroom.

"I'm getting some water before class starts. Maybe miss a few minutes because I hate this place. Promise you won't rat on me?"

"Of course I promise. Try not to be late this time."

"I'll _try_." Nikita rolled her eyes but briefly at her before she left the room. She decided to just skip the rest of the school day so she headed towards her locker. Nikita opened lockers on her way there and was slamming them shut as she ran past them. She was about to close one locker when a hand slammed it shut. She looked up into the angry look on Miles's face. "What is it?" She asked as she pushed away his hand and continued down the hall.

"You don't even know what you did to me," he said in disbelief as he shook his head and laughed a little.

"I didn't do anything to you," Nikita said in a dismissive tone as she kept walking. He pushed her back so he was standing in front of her.

"Yes you did," he said in an accusing tone. "You played with my heart. You lead me on just to watch me fall! Well now, I'm going to watch you fall!"

"What do you mean by–" Nikita started but she froze when he raised his hand. A gun was in it and it was pointing right in between her eyes. Her breath got caught in her throat as fear took her over. "Miles–"

"Say goodbye to your friend, Princess!" He said in a malicious tone as he pulled back the hammer on the gun. In a split second Nikita turned to run as fast as she could.

She heard the gunshot and she screamed as pain hit her in the side and she fell to her knees.

She fell onto the ground as everything in her world turned black…

----------------

Icy whirled around as screams filled the hall and frightened students ran around, trying to shove people out of their way. Icy was jostled and pushed around as they fought their way away from the gunman. Someone pushed her so hard she fell to the ground and started to get trampled on. She covered her body with her arms as she curled up into a ball, trying to block out the pain that was being reigned down on her.

She finally pushed herself to her feet and looked around. Some other kids were being ushered into classrooms. She followed them into one and closed and locked the door behind herself. Her hearth thudded in her chest as she tried to catch her breath and stop the tears from falling down her cheeks. Green Lake High was supposed to be a safe school. Nothing this bad was supposed to happen. Her head was so jumbled she couldn't even remember _what_ had happened.

"Icy?"

She turned her head and sighed with relief when she saw that Zigzag was sitting on the floor, looking up at her. She sat down next to him and looked him over. His hat had dirt smudged on it, his light blue t-shirt was ripped and there were massive holes in his jeans. To her, it looked as if he got into a fight with another student.

_'We're all in a fight…a fight to survive.'_

"I'm so glad you're ok!" Icy said as she hugged him. He flinched and she quickly pulled away and saw that his face was twisted in pain. "What happened?"

"It's nothing, I just got kicked by some people," he muttered. "But that's not the point. I don't understand why we're on lockdown. What happened? What's going on?"

"I was at my locker when it happened," Icy started to explain. "I was getting things for my Geometry class when I noticed it was really quiet, even with about ten people in the hall. Then I heard the gunshot…and the scream. Then everyone in the hallway started running around. I was pushed away by the panicked students and I was shoved to the floor. There people started to step on me as they tried to escape. Once I was finally able to get up I was brought in here." Tears were falling down Icy's face now. She suddenly gasped as she grabbed Zigzag's arm. "What about the others? What if they're hurt?"

Zigzag looked up at her in confusion. He's never seen her in this state before, and it wasn't comfortable for him to see tears spilling out of her eyes so easily. "Trust me, I've been thinking about that," he muttered as he rested his forehead on his arms. "I'm worried about Nikita. We haven't been separated ever since we've been going out. She must be freaking out right now. What if she's hurt? What if she's dying! She needs me but I can't get to her! I feel so helpless."

"Everything will be fine and–"

Everyone in the classroom was silenced as knocks were heard on the door. Big round eyes of fear looked at each other as they kept their mouths shut. The banging came once more as they started to panic.

"There's no teacher in here!" A drama club student, Melody, hissed as she brought her knees up to her chest.

"What do we do?" Another drama club student, Maz, questioned as the knocking came again, but this time more impatient. "We're not allowed to open the door incase it's the shooter."

"We're not supposed to be making noises either!" a boy snapped as he backed away from the door. Soon the knocks turned into impatient banging. The door handled jiggled a couple of times and they heard a voice swearing under his breath before footsteps we heard fading down the hall.

"What if that was the shooter?" Melody questioned.

"It probably someone trying to find a place to hide," Zigzag reassured her as she started to sob. "Their safe bet is to run away from the school and go get help."

"What if we don't make it?" Icy muttered in a cold voice.

"We will, Icy," he said as he grasped her hand in his strong grip. "I promise we'll get out soon."


	14. Finding the Light in the Darkness

**Chapter Fourteen-Finding the Light in the Darkness **

"Mag? I was looking everywhere for you," X-Ray said with a sigh once he looked around the room and saw his Hispanic friend sitting on a desk. Glare was next to him and they both had worried looks on their faces. "What's wrong with you two?"

"There's someone in this school with a gun," Glare responded. "Someone got shot. They say it was a girl but they won't who she is or any other information like that."

"What're you so worried about then?" X-Ray asked as she sat on a table across from them.

"It could be my sister, man!" Glare shouted. "She could be dead for all we know! I have to go find her!" He jumped up and made his way towards the door but Magnet and X-Ray grabbed him by the arms. "Let go of me! I have to see if she's ok! I have to! I have to!"

"And getting shot along the way isn't going to help matters!" Magnet groaned as he and X-Ray managed to pull Glare back in his seat and keep him there.

"Your sister is _not_ dead and she won't die," X-Ray reassured him. "She's smart, she'll know what to do if she _does_ get put in a bad situation, got it?"

Glare just stared at his hands as they slowly let go of his shoulders. He didn't want to think that it was his sister who got shot, but he couldn't help thinking it. He knew that, if confronted, Icy would end up talking her way to death. She always talked her way into bad situations and…He shook his head to get the thought out. Suddenly, there was a loud bang on the door and everyone fell silent. There was a loud bang and a groan of pain. They turned to see blood seeping out of a guy's chest before he fell to the ground.

Girls started to scream and back away as the door started to rattle on it's hinges from the battering of the door. Glare jumped up and, with some of the guy's help, propped a table up against the door and held it. Glare felt small pieces of the door hit the top of his head where bullets shot through the door.

The noise stopped as footsteps faded in the distance. Glare stayed by the door as his chest heaved from the mixture of fear and adrenaline. The other guys stayed with him by the door as a girl walked over to check on the bleeding boy.

"H-He's dead," she whispered as she looked up at them all. He recognized Jennifer, the girl that Squid was seen talking to a lot lately. "Oh my god, we're going to be next! I don' want to die!"

"Shut up!" X-Ray snapped. "We're not going to die, but we'll bring the killer back here if you don't stop screaming!"

"What're we going to do, X?" Magnet asked as he looked over at him.

"We're going to plan our escape, that's what." X-Ray responded. "Close the blinds and stay away from the window. You guys by the door, whatever happens, don't let go of that door incase the shooter comes back. The rest of you, come with me to the back so we can plan our escape."

"What about Lucas?" Jennifer asked as she bit her thumbnail and stared at the unmoving figure on the floor.

"We have to worry about ourselves right now," Magnet said gently as he led her over to the group that was at the back of the classroom.

_'Dear God please let me survive this._' Glare thought as he slumped slightly against the table.

------------------

"Damn! Damn! Damn!" Squid cursed every time he came to a door that wouldn't open. He was beginning to get frantic as he searched for a place to hide while the school was under lockdown. He couldn't get into classrooms and he couldn't get out the front door. Hiding in a locker or the bathroom wouldn't help him either. "The Library!" He turned on his heel and ran down the hallway as fast as he could. He entered the library and closed the door behind himself as quietly as he could.

He rushed past the shelves before ducking down behind the librarian's desk. He heard slight movements of people around him as he tried to catch his breath and slow down his beating heart. _'I'll make it out alive. I'll see Ally again.'_

"Squid?" A familiar voice asked softly.

"Twitch! Zero! Caveman!" Squid sighed with relief as he rested his head on the side of the desk. "Where's Armpit?"

"We don't know? We got split up when people stared running for a place to hide," Caveman responded from behind the fax machine. "Do you know who's doing this?"

"No," Squid responded as he shook his head. "But we'll be fine," he paused and added, "who'm I kidding? This is worse than Green Lake, and that was _hell_."

"You can't compare this to Camp Green Lake. Nothing as dangerous as _this_ has happened while we were there!" Twitch hissed.

"Save it, Spazzy!" Squid spat with a sneer. "I don't have to listen to a backstabber like you!"

"Are you guys still arguing over Icy?" Zero asked as he looked at them. "I thought you were over her."

"Guys, we have better things to think about," Caveman interrupted. "Like out _lives_!"

"I'm getting out of here before Twitch ends mine by backstabbing me…_again!"_ Squid declared as he crawled out from under the desk and made his way towards the door.

"Squid don't be stupid! You'll be killed!" Caveman cried out.

"It's better than being in here!"

Ignoring the shouts coming from his friends he left the room by pushing open the door with so much force that it banged against the opposite wall and created a hole. The bang echoed down the hall as Squid turned in the other direction and stomped down the hall, muttering under his breath. _'Why'm I still so mad about Twitch and Icy? I'm 100 percent over her…I think. God, I gave away the best thing that has ever happened to me.'_

"Squid!" He whirled around only to be knocked into lockers by the force of the hug he received. A familiar scent of coconut and vanilla drifted up to his nose and he instantly recognized who it was and hugged the person close to him as a familiar happy feeling washed over him. "I'm so glad you're ok," Icy said as she pulled away from him.

"I'm surprised you care about my well-being," Squid couldn't help but say as he looked her over, making sure she was ok. She had a couple of scratches and bruises but other than that, he saw, she was fine. He couldn't help but feel relief wash over him. "Wait a second, what're you doing out here? Don't you know there's a gunman on the loose?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Icy stated as she crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. "Excuse me for caring about my friends so much."

"So, even after we broke up, you still consider me your friend?"

"This isn't the time for this conversation, Squid. We have to get out of here now!" Icy turned and started rushing down the hallway, towards the front of the school. Rolling his eyes and cursing under his breath, Squid followed her. They made their way down the hall as quickly and as quietly as they could. Something was nagging at the back of Icy's mind but she pushed it away as they turned the corner…and she tripped over a metal trashcan. "Shit!" the sound of metal hitting the floor echoed down the hall as Icy scrambled to her feet. As Squid grasped her arm and helped pulled her to her feet, footsteps came towards them at a rapid pace. "NO!" She screamed as the gun shot echoed down the hall.

"Uh…" Squid gasped as she staggered backwards before falling to the ground, blood coming out of his side.

"No! No no no no!" Icy cried as she moved to his side. She looked up and locked eyes with Miles as he shakily lowered his hand. "Miles…don't do this anymore, please!" She sobbed as she untied Squid's do rag and pressed it against the wound on his side. "Miles…please, put the gun away and leave the school."

"I'll be…sent to jail…won't I?" He asked as he slowly lowered his hand to his side and held her gaze. She just nodded as she tucked her hair behind her ear. "I'm…Icy, I'm…I'm sorry…about this…about Nikita…"

"You shot Nikita?" Icy demanded as she glared at him.

"I-It was an accident…I…I never meant…" Miles was sobbing to hard to finish his sentence. He looked back and forth from the gun in his hand to Icy's tear streaked face as she checked if Squid was still breathing, his still eyes staring up at the ceiling. "I'm sorry…" he muttered before holding the gun to his head and squeezing his eyes shut. He pulled the trigger and there was a low pop as he fell to the ground, lifeless.

"No, no, no, no!" Icy muttered as she pressed harder on Squid's wound. "HELP! SOMEONE HELP!" She called as she looked over at Miles and saw blood coming from the hole in his head. "Squid…c'mon man, c'mon. Don't die," she said as she shook him. He stirred slightly and groaned in pain.

"Don't worry, Ice…I won't leave you," he said slowly as he gasped for air, his breaths coming out ragged from the pain. "Because…well…I still love ya, Ice."

"Even after everything I did to you?" she asked in a shocked voice as she checked his wound.

"Yea…I never got over you. You're the first person I loved, you kinda can't take that away from someone," he responded as he laughed a little. Then he squeezed his eyes shut at the pain. "But…you're with Twitch now…"

"Yeah…" Icy said softly as she sat back and waited for teachers to come. Once they arrived they immediately called the paramedics. Icy was taken away for questioning by a news crew as students were being released from the classrooms. She stopped when she saw the sad look on Zigzag's face and immediately went over to him to give him a hug. She automatically knew what had happened and wanted to make him feel better, although she knew a hug wouldn't help. Zigzag held her tightly as he rested his cheek on her head, trying to keep the tears from falling from his cheeks.

She led him outside where they met up with the rest of D-tent, minus Squid, Armpit, and Nikita. Ally, Shorty, and Maggie came over from the other school to see what has happened. Ally burst out crying and went into hysterics once she figured out that Squid was one of the five people who were shot.

"C'mon guys," X-Ray said after a while of them standing around in silence. "Let's go to the hospital and check on them. The sooner we go to get the news the better we'll be able to handle whatever news gets sent our way, aiight?"

"C'mon Mags," Zigzag said as he picked his little sister off of the ground and made their way to his car. Ally followed him but not before giving Shorty a quick hug. Glare picked her up and held her close as they slowly left the school. They walked to Nikita's place and picked up Leon, told him the news, and walked with him to the hospital. They walked in and had to sit in the waiting room a while before any information on their friends were released. Nikita got a bullet in her leg, but she would survive. The bullet that hit Squid missed his organs and he would be fine too. Armpit was in the worst condition; he got shot and the bullet punctured his lung. Since he was found later than he should have been, he had a fifty fifty chance of surviving.

"Niki! Niki!" Leon called as she walked into the waiting room on her crutches. He nearly knocked her over. She stumbled a little bit on his crutches but caught her balance and hugged him back, telling him not to cry. She looked up and smiled as Zigzag moved closer to her. "Hey baby."

"I'm so glad you're ok," he said as he squeezed her tightly and kissed the top of her head. "I'm just sorry you got hurt."

"I've felt worse," Nikita said as she shrugged it off. "Not that I don't appreciate you caring so much, I'm worried about Armpit and Squid. What's the doctors say? Can we see them?"

"We can only see Squid, but we can only go two at a time," Magnet responded. "Glare is visiting Squid with Ally, and then Shorty and Maggie are going while we wait for news on Pit."

"Where're Twitch and Icy?" Nikita asked as she looked around. "Icy I at least figured would be here to greet me."

"Twitch is breaking up with her," Zigzag responded in a surprisingly calm voice. "Turns out he didn't love her like Squid loved her. I guess he fell in love with the fact that a girl wanted to be his friend. I don't think she loved him all along either."

Before they could say anything Glare, Ally, Shorty, and Maggie walked back into the waiting room. Ally had dried tears on her face but she was smiling either way and was talking quietly with Shorty and Maggie. "Squid wants to talk to Icy," Glare announced as he looked around the room. "Where is she?"

"Right here," Icy responded as she walked back into the waiting room, Twitch following close behind. Nikita peered closely at Twitch's face and surprisingly saw a look of relief on it. Icy walked past them and went straight through the doors that led to the patients' rooms. She asked a doctor for directions and walked to Squid's room. She knocked on the door and waited to hear his muffled 'Come in.'" Once she did she hesitantly pushed open the door and walked inside. She paused n the door way when she saw the acoustic guitar on Squid's lap that he was playing and was singing softly.

**I found a line and then it grew  
I found myself still thinking of you  
I felt so empty and now I'm fine  
But still it's burning, when will you be mine?**

Too much of the same stories in our lives  
I think it's time for change, don't you?  
Too much of the same stories in our lives  
(I think it's time for us to walk away from here)

Stories in our lives, we keep them all inside

Look at me still in your mind  
Our memories so intertwined  
Well you broke through and found your way  
And so did I no need to stay  
The same old picture, tried and true  
Been through there, let's look for something new

Too much of the same stories in our lives  
I think it's time for change, don't you?  
Too much of the same stories in our lives  
(I think it's time for us to walk away from here)

Do you remember lying on the beach so late at night  
Do you remember running through the sprinklers that night  
Do you remember all the songs that I have wrote for you,  
All the songs that I have wrote for you  
(For you)

I remember, the way you made me feel when I was with you  
I remember, the smile that always brought me back to you  
That look in your eyes, I never thought that this could be untrue _[x2_

Too much of the same stories in our lives  
I think it's time for change, don't you?  
Too much of the same stories in our lives  
(I think it's time for us to walk away from here)

(Untrue  
Do do da da  
do do da da  
do do da da  
do do da da  
do yeah yeah yeah)

Too much of the same stories in our lives  
I think it's time for change, don't you?  
Too much of the same stories in our lives  
(I think it's time for us to walk away from here) 

"Just the girl I wanted to see," he said once his eyes landed on her and he put the guitar on the ground. "Sit," he added as he pointed to the chair that was next to the bed. Icy remained silent as she sat down in the chair. "Now, why did Twitch break up with you?"

"You know why," Icy responded as she ran a hand through her hair.

"Icy, I've been through enough pain in my life, don't do it to me again," he said as he stared intently at her. "Look, I love you, and I hope you love me in return. I will do anything I can to protect you, along with Ally. You two are the most important, and only, girls in my life and I don't want to lose either of you."

"Squid," Icy started with a sigh, but he held up his hand to silence her.

"I'm not done yet. You see that on the table?" He pointed across the room. Icy turned to look and nodded. "Bring it over here and open it." Giving him a puzzled look, she did as she was told and crossed the room. She sat back down the box her in hands and looked at him. He gave her an encouraging nod and she ripped the paper off of the box. She opened the other box that was in her hands and her eyes widened.

"Y-you…" she stuttered as she tried to make a sentence.

"When I turn eighteen I plan on leaving this city with Ally, and I want to take you with me, so we can start our own lives. That's why I'm giving you that ring; I want to marry you, Icy." Her mouth opened and closed as she tried to answer him. He stared at her expectantly as she reached over, grabbed the pillow that was behind his head, and hit him with it. "Ow! What the hell?"

"You _idiot_!" She practically shouted. "You could've been killed! When were you planning on asking me?"

"A couple of days ago."

"And how come you didn't?"

"I got cold feet?" Icy couldn't help but grin at his answer. She leaned over and pressed her lips against his in a passionate kiss, which he returned with the same intensity. Once they pulled away he kissed her forehead and held her hand. "I want to be with you forever."

"But what about your mother and father?" Icy questioned as she stared at him. "They would battle you for custody and, judging by how they're older than you, they'd win."

"They can't beat me," Squid said as he shook his head. "I have one thing that they don't: love. Love for Ally. They just throw her around like some rag doll and I won't let them do it ever again!"

"Do you know how long it will take to get a court case in session?"

"Why're you trying to stop me from doing this?"

"What I'm _trying_ to do is help you see the facts and not rush into it and blow your chances! You have to go into this logically so you have a great case to get Ally to rightfully be your responsibility!" Icy sighed and continued. "I know all about this Squid, so trust me. I've been trying to get away from my father for years but I never won a case. Partly because I was just a kid and partly because I didn't know what I was doing and he always had something against me."

Squid just stared at her as Icy stayed silent, letting the words sink in. Before he could say anything the door opened and Icy turned her head to see X-Ray walk in. He smiled a little and gave Squid a wave, which he returned as X-Ray asked, "How're you feeling man?"

"Like a million bucks besides the bullet in my side," Squid responded with a chuckle. "How's Pit?"

X-Ray took a breath and responded surprisingly calmly, "He's gone…"


	15. Epilogue: That’s Life

**Chapter Fifteen-Epilogue: That's Life **

_"X, you have to come back inside," Magnet said as he sat down on the front steps next to him. "X-Ray, you have to go back." _

_"I can't go back," X-Ray said in a hoarse voice as he shook his head. "I can't go in there, not when I have to see him after what has happened." _

_The two boys sat in silence as they watched cars pass by the church. The sun seemed to mock them as they shared the silence. A man walked out and told them to get inside. Magnet literally had to pull X-Ray to his feet and push him inside to make him go. X-Ray numbly walked to the front and sat down in a seat. Once he looked up he felt something hit him like a brick. _

_It was reality. _

_He looked down the row and looked at his friend's faces. They seemed to have the same looks on their faces so they must've gotten that feeling too. He shook his head and looked towards the front once more as the minister came to the podium. _

_X-Ray didn't listen to him talk, he didn't want to. _

_He kept his head bent the entire time with his eyes closed. He could tell that Magnet was looking at him in sympathy, along with some of the other men and women in the room. He bit his lip to keep from screaming out loud. He couldn't take the silence. He didn't like the silence. The silence gave reality the opportunity to smack him in the face a couple of times. _

_"Rex Jefferson?" _

_X-Ray kept his head down, although he heard his own name. He couldn't move, he was frozen to his seat. He felt Magnet nudging him, but he really couldn't move. 'Don't make me get up there. Please god, don't make me.' He felt strong arms pull him to his feet, and that was when X-Ray looked up. Magnet guided him to the podium until he was looking out at everyone. _

_"Do you want me to stay up here with you?" Magnet whispered. _

_"No…no, I'll be fine," X-Ray responded in a quiet voice. "Just get the guys ready." _

_Magnet nodded and gave his best friend a pat on the arm. He motioned to some of his friends who were sitting down. They stood, gave X-Ray the thumbs up sign, and left the room. X-Ray raised his head and looked at everyone who was staring back at him. He gulped and opened his mouth to begin. _

_"I…It's hard for me to believe this," he started in a shaky voice. His knees were knocking and his hands were sweaty. He felt like he was going to throw up and all he wanted to do was leave, go back home, sleep, and dreamed that this had never happened. "It's hard for me to believe that one of my best friends, someone I hold close to my heart, isn't here with us anymore." He stopped to look at his parent's and his sister's and brother's faces. The nodded at him encouraging him to continue. _

_"In a way we were only freshmen; we didn't know what we were getting into. My friends and I, we were real excited getting out of a some sort of jail and go to a real school. We finally had seniority over some students, and laptops alone made us happier." He paused and looked at his remaining friend's faces. "We knew that being in high school would be a challenge. There would be a lot more people around and peer pressure would shoot up like the temperature in the summer. We promised each other that we would never give into peer pressure and that we would stay friends forever." _

_X-Ray paused and looked out at everyone. His voice was stronger than before as he took steady breaths. 'I can do this. I can finish this.' _

_"We held get togethers every Friday and talked about what was going on in our lives, we never expected to change. Especially our outlook on school and life in general. I never understood how high school could have an affect on him, but it did, we just didn't show it. Armpit was suffering from depression. It was scary once I found out, but he wasn't happy because he didn't have anyone to turn to. I just wish he could've come to me. He claimed more than once that he was numb. _

_"We're only 'freshmen', but we're not too young to understand things that are happening to us now. We're changing, and so is everyone else in the world. I told you how Armpit liked to sing, well, rap. But the only time he did sing it was about a song that I now realize remindes me of us. Now, listening to the song, I understood what she meant." _

_X-Ray stepped away from the podium and took the microphone with him. His eyes went to the back of the church as many heads turned in the direction. Icy walked in, playing her guitar softly. Glare also walked in carrying a bass guitar. Shorty walked in pushing a drum set in front of her. They stopped by the front; Icy was still playing, as Zigzag took X-Ray's place at the podium and began to sing "We Were Merely Freshmen" by Verve Pipe softly. _

_When the song came to an end Zigzag, Glare, Icy, and Shorty bowed as people applauded. The funeral service went on for another hour before they got into their cars to go to the cemetery. Once they arrived they gathered around Armpit's tombstone and stared at the cold slab of stone. After the prayers were said and the coffin was lowered into the ground Glare grasped Shorty's hand and led them down the path. _

_"We know this isn't your real burial place, but we also know that you're with us wherever we go so it doesn't matter," Glare said as he stared at a tombstone. _

_"We really miss you, mom," Shorty said softly. "But we're getting by. Icy…I mean Mackenzie, got proposed to by her boyfriend, Alan. They're planning on waiting for college to get married because they're too young right now." _

_"After everything we've been through we learned that everything in our lives is happening for a reason. We don't know what the reason is right now, but we will find out later, we just know it. We're growing up mom, we're not little kids anymore, as you can see. We miss you a lot and we can't wait to see you again in our dreams." _

_"Alan, why do bad things happen to us?" Ally asked as he walked over, carrying her on his side. _

_He slipped his hand into Icy's before responding, "That's life, kid. But not all bad things happen, a lot of good things happen to us too." He smiled at Icy a little who gave his hand a squeeze. Glare smiled as SpitFire came up and hooked her arm with his. Shorty gave Leon a small hug once he appeared at her side and Zigzag gave Nikita's shoulder a squeeze as they appeared behind them. _

_"What's in store for our future, Alan?" Ally asked as she rested her head on his shoulder. _

_"Whatever life deals us," Squid responded. _

**_THE END! _**

**A/N: There will be a sequel to this, don't worry. I just have to add a couple of chapters to other stories first. **


End file.
